


The spotlight that brought us together

by PinkPastelQuartz



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Idols, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Depression, Double Life, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Heavily inspired by love live, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Insecurity, Lack of Communication, Light Angst, Like there's a lot of father daughter stuff because I love it, Minor Character(s), No Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Overworking, Panic Attacks, Pokemon exist but they aren't the main focus, References to Depression, Rivalry, Secrets, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Doubt, Seriously. they are children., Social Anxiety, Suicidal Thoughts, The lack of father-daughter relationship fics in Pokemon makes me sad, The protective father figure gang are here and they're amazing, The tags make it sound so much darker than it actually is. I swear it isnt, There's a little angst but it's mostly fluff, Trans Female Character, Trauma, Trauma Recovery, adults are oblivious, don't worry they get help, no it is not a kink, please don't be creepy, somewhat cannon compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:02:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 74,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29158593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkPastelQuartz/pseuds/PinkPastelQuartz
Summary: Idol AU.All so different, yet brought together in the form of a performance.Each one of them has a different reason for wanting to be here, but the one thing that they all have in common is how much they enjoy being up on the stage.On the stage, nothing else matters. When they're on the stage, they aren't Pokemon trainers, or gym leaders, or champions, or challengers.They're just a bunch of friends having fun.Maintaining a double life sure isn't easy, especially when you all live thousands of miles away. Yet it's something they're willing to do if they can be on the stage forever.
Relationships: Anzu | Janine & Kyou | Koga, Burnet-hakase | Professor Burnet/Kukui-hakase | Professor Kukui, Leaf & Red (Pokemon), Lilie | Lillie & Mao | Mallow (Pokemon)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 3





	1. An escape for all of us

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. This is my first ever time writing an Idol AU, so I hope it's alright? Most of these chapters were inspired by Love Live songs, so I'll put the song I had in mind while writing the performance at the start of each chapter.
> 
> Also, I'm a sucker for healthy father-daughter relationships, so that's going to be a focal point of this fic. If it wasn't obvious already.
> 
> Song- Nico Puri ❤️ Joshi dou

\---------------

Chapter 1. Spotlight

Lillie looked at her watch anxiously. It was 11:30PM. She was cutting it VERY close, but she had no other options. 

She waited outside the bedroom door with baited breath. Why couldn't Kukui just go to sleep already? 

She only let her muscles relax when she heard the familiar sound of quiet snoring. Lillie let out a huge sigh of relief. He was finally asleep.

Making as little noise as possible, she gently tiptoed out the door, clutching her bag close to her body, and wincing whenever one of the planks on the floor creaked slightly. Yet the snoring didn't stop, and Lillie relaxed as she exited the front door with little complications.

As soon as the door was closed, she frantically ran onto the beach, pokeball in hand. Sand kicked up around her, getting into her mouth and hair, but she couldn't afford to slow down.

"Togekiss, get us to Sinnoh, I can't be late!" Lillie pleaded, releasing the fairy type onto the beach.

Togekiss let out a cry of understanding, before landing, allowing Lillie to climb aboard his back.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, securing her hold. "Ok, let's go!" She increased her grip as the fairy type soared into the air, flying high above the Alloa oceans.

Sensing the urgency in his trainers voice, Togekiss increased his pace, leaving Lillie to cling to the Pokemon helplessly. 

"Good boy" Lillie said, but it was drowned out by the sound of rushing winds. "You'll get lots of poke beans when we land."

Hearing this, Togekiss went even faster. Soaring through the air like a Latios on a mission. Lillie's sand-covered hair blew back in the wind violently.

\---------------

"Where the hell are they?" Leaf paced around the backstage room. "They should have been here hours ago"

Serena looked up from fixing her hair. "Lillie has Kukui at home watching her, and Mallow had to take the plane since she didn't have a flying Pokemon. Peonia should be here with Marnie any minute now"

As if on cue, two heavily-panting girls burst through the changing room doors. 

"I'm so sorry." Marnie apologised. "Piers wouldn't let me leave. Peonia had to say I had to catch a Pokemon for league reasons"

Peonia, who was similarly out of breath, chuckled at the statement. "I swear, Piers is as bad as my Dad sometimes." 

"No time for gossip!" Iris burst through out of one of the changing room cubicles, decked out in her navy-blue dress. "Peonia, get changed and then you have to fix our hair and Makeup" 

Peonia groaned, she had completely forgotten about that little detail. However it wasn't like she could do anything about it now, she just had to get everyone ready to go on stage, and then everything would be fine.

"Marnie, your dress is in the changing room, same for you, Peonia" Janine emerged from her changing room, sporting her purple dress, complete with all the bows and frills. "Why dont the rest of us go over the routine one more time?" 

May also emerged from her changing room, a bottle of water in her hands. "I'm not sure we have time. We need to be on stage in an hour and we're still down 2 members" 

"They'll be fine" Serena assured. "They've been looking forward to this performance just as much as I have." 

"They better be here soon." Leaf growled. Serena laid a hand on her shoulder gently. 

"Hey, don't panic. They'll be here soon. I'm sure of it" Leaf's concern melted slightly as she felt her shoulder being squeezed. She sighed, a small smile creeping onto her face.

"Alright, But if they aren't here in half an hour, they're going to be in a world of trouble." She smiled at Serena, who returned the expression.

"I'm ready! Everyone get in front of a mirror" Peonia burst from her changing room like a small hurricane, her arms were thrown up in the air, showcasing her yellow outfit. A gust of wind created by the force of the door blew everyone in the rooms' hair back slightly.

"3.4 minutes? That's a new record" Leaf mused with a smirk. "You should apply for a world record"

"Don't tease her" May scolded.

Peonia rolled her eyes, but grinned nonetheless. 

Iris rushed to a mirror, and grabbed the makeup bag from her purse. "Oh! Do me first Peonia! Pretty pleeeeaaaase?" She looked towards her with the largest pair of Lillipup eyes Peonia had ever seen, and that was by Iris standards. 

"Alright, alright." She smiled as she made her way over to Iris, who pumped a fist in the air in a victory pose. "Serena, heat up the hair curlers; May, get the straighteners going; Leaf, for the love of Arceus put a brush through that hair and Janine, start on your foundation"

A chorus of "Yes Ma'am"s followed, and Peonia turned her attention to Iris, who was squirming in her seat from excitement. 

"I can't wait!" Iris bounced around like a child at a theme park. "We're going to be on TV, International TV at that!"

"It really is exciting, isn't it?" Serena mused, the hair curlers beeping in her hands. 

"I'm excited!" Janine smiled "I've hardly been able to control myself all week, Koga kept getting on my case about being jumpy." 

"I've been excited too." May ran the straighteners through her hair, the steam taking away any minor kinks or curls. "The champion paperwork has been piling up lately, and Norman won't get off my back" 

"Tell me about it" Iris huffed. "All I ever hear these days is 'wHeN aRe yOu gOinG tO bE cHaMpIoN?' I'm sick of it. I'm so glad to finally have some time to ourselves"

Marnie emerged from the changing rooms shyly, a huge blush across her face. "You don't think this is too girly, right?" 

Everyone turned towards Marnie, who blushed even harder at the newfound attention. Her outfit was very similar to the rest of the girls', the main colour was a hot pink, with some lighter pink accents. A large glittery bow made from a magenta ribbon sat just below the neckline, distinguishing it from all the other outfits.

"You look amazing!" Iris gushed.

"It fits you perfectly" Serena smiled. 

The girls showered her with compliments, causing her to blush even harder.

"I thought you liked girly things?" Leaf asked, still struggling to force the hairbrush through her long hair. "Isn't that why you became an Idol?"

"I-I mean... yeah, kinda" Marnie fiddled with one of her pigtails. "I really like outfits like this, but it's the first time that I've been the centre for a song. I... I dunno." She swallowed "Everyone thinks I need to wear black all the time, I'm just scared someone from Galar will recognise us"

"Trust me, I've made sure they won't" Peonia winked. "I know we're amazing, but I know this is something you wanna keep your family out of. So I pulled a few strings here and there"

Marnie took a breath. "...Alright." She exhaled. "I just need to remember to do my best, right?"

"That's the spirit!" Iris grinned. 

Marnie took a seat in front of her dressing mirror, and gingerly took her twin tails down. Her black hair was always weird to see down, but Peonia insisted it was easier to work with that way.

"I hope they like the dresses" Serena fussed with her bangs, twisting the straighteners so it caught her hair at a different angle. "I spent a lot of time designing them. Diantha started getting curious why I kept revisiting this one sketch instead of working on the rest of the line."

"Oh yeah, you have your autumn fashion line due to come out soon." Janine commented. "How's that going."

The groan that came from Serena was enough of an answer. "Don't remind me. I've got so much to work on, and no time to do any of it." She set the curlers down. "Both Valerie and Diantha are nagging me about this deadline, because apparently I have to publish a new line the second it turns autumn. I just wanna design what I want, when I want."

"You seem stressed." May observed. "Is this a good break for you?"

Serena inspected her newly-curled hair in the mirror. "Yeah! One of the reasons I like designing for this group so much is that I feel a connection to each dress" she plucked at the red fabric of her own dress. "It's like, part of you is in the dresses I make."

"That.... kind of makes sense" Janine said. 

"Alright! That's Iris's make-up and hair finished." Peonia swirled the chair around, showing Iris's purple hair tied up into a tight bun, with wavy strands hanging down the sides of her face. The dark-blue eyeshadow matched the fabric of her dress perfectly.

"Aaaaahhh!" Iris squealed, "You always know how to make me look like a princess"

"Alright, alright" Peonia grinned "I'd love for you to compliment me more, but I've gotta do the rest of the group's hair and makeup now. Just stay still until we go on stage, alright?"

Iris pouted, but nodded anyways.

"Alright Leaf, you're next" Peonia turned to the shorter girl with a devilish glint in her eye.

"Should I be scared?" She asked, an eyebrow raised. 

"Only if Lillie and Mallow don't turn up soon" Peonia escorted Leaf to one of the mirrors. 

"Do you think they'll come?" May asked. 

"Of course they will!" Janine smirked "Peonia will beat them to death if they don't."

"Exactly." She sat the hairbrush on the table, satisfied with how much she had untangled the mess in front of her. "I'm going to need the straighteners, May"

\---------------------

Mallow and Lillie somehow managed to make it in time, with only 20 minutes until they were due to be on stage. 

"It's about time!" Leaf scolded. "Changing room. Now." 

Neither Lillie or Mallow protested as the girls ushered them into the changing rooms. 

"You better be out here in the next 4 minutes, or so help me." They heard May say from behind the doors of their respective cubicles.

Mallow was the first one out, having gotten dressed in only 2 minutes. 

Iris giggled when she looked at the clock. "Wow, Peonia, they beat your record already" this earned her a jab in the ribs from Peonia.

"Shush. Now come here, I need to do your hair quickly."

\---------------------

"We are live at the concert premier of the brand new song that everyone is talking about" A female reporter with blonde hair eagerly spoke into the microphone. "The idol group is due up onstage in less than five minutes, with fans eagerly awaiting the debut of the new single."

"That's right, Samantha" The cameras turned to a different reporter, a younger man with black hair "This is their first ever televised concert, due to popular demand."

The camera panned back to the lady reporter "I've heard from an anonymous source that their new song will have Marie as it's centre, what do you think about that?"

"Long-time fans will remember that Marie's last centre, "Bubblegum Blitz" was a fan favourite, topping charts for weeks after it came out. I look forward to seeing how they top it this time." 

"Thank you Micheal," the reporter flashed the camera a customer-service smile. "How do you respond to the observation that this song features Marie as its centre for the second time, while Mahina has never been the centre of a single song to date?"

"I believe that it is surprising, and the group has received backlash, especially from die hard Mahina fans who want to see more from her. But in the end it's all down to what the group believes is best" Micheal nodded.

"And it seems that the lights have dimmed in the audience." Samantha commentated "I believe they are about to take to the stage, so we shall take our leave now."

"Thank you everyone for watching, now we shall pass over to our other cameras, who have a close up view of the action for everyone at home."

The cameras pointing towards the cameras shut off, leaving both reporters to drop their happy demeanours and face towards the stage.

"Everyone give it up for the brand new single, 'Sekishishoku'" a voice over the loudspeaker announced.

The crowd cheered, jumping up and down while waving glowing sticks. The venue was completely packed, with standing room only. 

The roars of the crowd only increased when the magenta curtains were pulled back in a smooth motion, revealing the nine girls standing on the stage. Spotlights corresponding to their respective colours illuminated each of them.

The girls looked up across the sea of excited fans. They saw how they screamed the name of their favourite member, and frantically waved their arms. They noticed how everyone in the audience had a smile on their faces, and most of all, they noticed how thrilling it felt to be on the stage.

The feelings between the nine girls were all the same in that moment. They felt happy. 

As the backing track for the song began to play over the loudspeakers, the audience began to quieten down. 

The thrill of performing, that's what drew the nine of them together. The rush of adrenaline as they sang, the happiness they felt from seeing how their songs affected those in the audience, that's why they did it. That's why they loved every second spent on stage.

Right now, they weren't Pokemon trainers, or gym leaders, or students, or champions. They were idols, and the crowd loved them.

The performance went off without a hitch, each movement synchronised. Their voices blended together during the chorus, forming a perfect harmony. 

As the song progressed, the girls shared a single thought between all nine of them.

"I never want this moment to end"

\--------------------

"Marvellous, wasn't it?"

The panel of critics sat in their booth, far above the audience and their thunderous applause. They watched as the girls took their bows, before walking backstage to take a short break.

"Marie certainly knows how to get a crowd riled up, and the outfits this time were spectacular" another critic commented, scribbling something in his notepad. 

"I felt as though the fabric for Hana's outfit was too green" a different one observed "Her colour scheme is supposed to be teal, but it looked more Lime here"

"I disagree, I feel it complemented Kaliko's darker green more" She looked up from her own notepad. "If we want to talk about fabrics, I feel like Mahina's fabric is different from the rest of the group, it's too silvery"

"I don't agree, I think these outfits are the best produced to date" A silver-haired critic sat his pen down on the notepad. "Especially Marie's, it stands out, but it also feels like it belongs in the set. Sereine has outdone herself this time"

"What about the song itself?" The female critic asked. 

"Perfect, it really compliments Marie's girly aesthetic." The first critic observed. "Her voice is high enough to leave an impact, but not so high that it's pitchy"

"Yes, but I feel-..."

The critics continued to make their comments about the performance, scribbling their very thought down onto the notepads balanced on their laps.

\-----------------------------------------------------

"That was amazing!" Mallow squealed. "You killed it, Marnie!"

"Until the very end..." May began, extending a hand out in front of her as the girls formed a circle. 

"We'll let the spotlight guide us" They chorused, finishing the slogan with a smile. Each girl extended a hand into the centre of the circle. 

Iris did her normal post-concert routine, running around the backstage rooms while squealing like a hyper toddler. No matter how many concerts they performed, Iris' excitement never seemed to die down. She was like a little kid that had just been told they got a week off school.

"A-ah. Thank you" Marnie blushed furiously. "Do you think my smile looked too... forced?"

"Nah, you were great" Leaf ruffled her hair, causing Peonia to gasp with horror as the pristine twin tails were knocked out of place. 

"I agree with Leaf." Serena said, choosing to ignore how Peonia gently smacked Leaf for messing up the hair she had worked so hard on. "We all know your smile out there is genuine, so you shouldn't worry about it." 

"T-thank you" Marnie stammered. "I hope the crowd liked it just as much as we did"

"Totally!" Mallow winked. "I couldn't have asked for a better Tv debut" 

"The crowd loved us! Especially you, Lillie!" Iris abruptly stopped running around the room, wrapping an arm around Lillie "You're trending on Pokégram."

"I am?" Lillie jumped back, bumping into Janine, who was already on her phone.

"Yeah! We all are, but Lillie especially" She dropped the phone into Lillie's trembling hands. "Look at these"

"'The song was a Marie centre, but Mahina stole the show'" she read out loud. "'Mahina and Apricot are so underrated, I wish they'd get their own centre's soon'"

Leaf giggled "Well Janine, I guess you don't have to worry about who's centre in our next song."

"Guess not" She leaned over Lillie's shoulder to read some more comments about the show. Peonia did the same.

"'Sereine wins the award for 'making an outfit that makes Mahina look gorgeous''" Peonia read, a smile forming on her face. "'Flùr killed it, she somehow steals the spotlight even when she's in the background' AH! People like me?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Mallow came over to read over Lillie's shoulder, Iris still clinging to her.

Lillie was getting swarmed with people reading over her shoulder, so she handed the phone back to Janine. "I still can't believe it. It feels more like a dream"

"I know, right?" Mallow giggled. "Remember back when we first started this group? Could you imagine telling past us that we'd be on national Tv one day? I would've called you crazy"

"I would've never believed it" Janine muttered "But I'm so glad that it's actually happening"

"Arceus, that takes me back" Leaf stretched her arms above her head. "It doesn't feel like 7 months already."

"Alright, Alright" May raised her hands, like how a trainer would approach an angry Hydreigon. "We should all get dressed, we need to be back in our respective regions before anyone realises we're gone" 

"Awwwwwww" The other eight girls chorused, each one giving Lillipup eyes to May. Even the normally inexpressive Serena and Marnie. "Can we not hang out for a bit? Like old times?"

"I'm not sure that's something we can risk." May sighed "Taking time zones into account, could your excuses for being missing stretch a few extra hours?"

"Kukui should still be asleep, he won't be awake until 5AM" Lillie glanced at the clock, it was 9:02, Sinnoh time. So it should be just past 2AM in Alola. "I can stay for another hour or so" Mallow nodded from beside her.

"It's 1PM in Kalos, and I said I wouldn't be finished my new project until evening" Serena added, "So I'm free as well"

May nodded, before turning to the rest of the gang. "What about you?"

"Told Piers that I'm taking her to the wild area, I'll just say we decided to camp out" Peonia grinned "And my dad's a pushover, so don't worry about us"

"I told Drayden I'd be training alone this morning" Iris rocked back and forth on her feet "I've got another few hours until he gets suspicious, it's only 7AM in Unova"

May sighed, before clasping her hands together. "I guess that settles it then, unless Leaf or Janine have any exceptions?" Both of them shook their heads. "Okay, I suppose we can take an hour or so to hang out. But, there is to be absolutely no slip up's, especially in public places" she sternly lectured the gang.

"Yes Ma'am" they chorused.

"If I hear even one person refer to us by our real names while in public, I will personally awaken Kyogre and Groudon to beat you to death" The girls shuddered at how scary May could be sometimes. "Am I making myself absolutely, crystal clear?"

She pointed to Leaf "What's your name?"

"Hana" she replied obediently.

May nodded before pointing to Iris "What's your name?"

"Kayda" she grinned.

"Good. Now, when I say we're on a tight schedule, I mean it. We have exactly two hours, and I will personally escort you all home if you refuse to leave." She glared at the group "Do you understand?"

May relaxed when all the girls nodded. 

"Alright, where to?"

All at once, the girls began to throw ideas around, talking over each other like toddlers at pre-school. Everything from 'a cafe' to 'the distortion world' was thrown out there.

"One at a time!" May scolded. "We'll spend the whole hour arguing at this rate. Iris, you go first"

"There's this café in Veilstone city that serves all kind of sweet stuff" Iris suggested "I wanna go there"

May nodded, before pointing to Lillie, prompting her to giver her own suggestion. "Well, the lighthouse in Sunyshore could be a fun place to hang out for a bit..."

May nodded again, and she went around each girl, who all suggested something different. Mallow suggested a shopping trip in Jubilife, Janine suggested a walk through Eterna forest, Serena proposed a visit to the Oreburgh museum, Marnie put forth the amity square and Peonia begged to go to the super contest hall.

"Leaf?" May asked, turning to the last girl. "What about you?"

"I dunno, just decide already so we can go somewhere." She groaned. The rest of the girls also began to look agitated.

"Well, I've always wanted to try poffins" May sighed "There's a place that we could make them in Hearthome." 

A chorus of positive responses followed.

"Everyone on board with that then?" May scanned each of the girls' faces for any signs of doubt. She smiled when she saw none. "Alright, let's set off then. But I wan't everyone changed within the next 10 minutes, alright?"

"Yes Ma'am!" 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

"You have to stir it like this" Janine grabbed the soon from Iris.

"Noooo!" Iris whined "I was doing perfectly fine"

Serena watched the two bicker from the sidelines with a chuckle, before turning back to her sketchbook. Lillie also had her sketchbook on the table, but her's was full of words instead of drawings.

"Any ideas for a song?" Serena asked, Lillie sighed and shook her head. 

"I don't know." She let the pen rest defeatedly on the notebook. "I don't even know who's our next centre, so I can't work from that"

Peonia laughed from across the room. "Well that parts easy." She shouted back. "Everyone wants to see a Mahina centre, so isn't that what we're doing?"

Lillie looked down at the notepad, the half-baked ideas for lyrics mocked her from the page. "I... I don't know."

"How come? May asked, suddenly appearing next to Lillie as soon as she heard her distress. 

"Well, it's just..." Lillie sighed again. "I don't think I'm ready. It's different when I'm in the background, it feels like we're... together in a way. If I was centre stage, I'd feel like I'm hogging the spotlight, and I know Flùr or Hana might like that, but it's not for me"

May hummed in thought. "Well, if you're absolutely sure, we can't force you."

"I'm sorry..." Lillie apologised. "I'm supposed to be an idol, but I can't even stand being in the spotlight"

"That's no reason to apologise" Serena rested a hand on Lillie's arm. "If you don't want to be centre stage, we won't make you." 

"T-thanks" Lillie sniffed. "Can we make this one an Apricot centre? They seem to like her as well"

Janine perked up from across the room. "I don't mind being centre, I've kind of wanted to be it for a while now"

"Well it's settled then" Lillie swiftly scribbled over the lyrics she had previously written. "So what inspires you?"

Janine handed the spoon back to Iris so she could walk over to the table with Lillie "Well.... uhhh..."

There was a good thirty seconds of Janine sounding confused, before she sighed in defeat. "I've got nothing. I've never really thought about what inspires me, it just.... happens?"

Iris and Peonia continued to attend to their poffins, while Janine looked at the table, defeated. 

"Well, maybe we should try focus on that first?" Serena dropped her pen on the table "I'm honestly not having much better luck" 

"Inspiration...." Janine shut her eyes, mind already drifting to different places. 

She imagined the roaring crowd, the joy she felt when the spotlight shone down on her. She thought about how her voice echoed across the stadium, how the audience seemed to hang onto every note.

She thought about her choreography, how the critics always had something nice to say about the arrangements she created. She tried to focus on the emotions she felt when she heard their praise.

Yet she came up blank, the only word that came to mind was "happy".

"Why is this so difficult" she groaned, taking a hand through her spiked hair "I can't put any of my feelings into words. I've no idea how you do it, Mahina"

Lillie blushed a little at the compliment. "Ah, I've always been told I'm good at putting things into words"

"The poffins are ready!" Iris and Peonia announced simultaneously.

The rest of the girls perked up at the mention of the poffins, both Iris and Peonia approached the group with a tray in their hands. The poffins on Peonia's tray were a light yellow, while the one's on Iris' were a hot pink.

"Mine look better" Peonia teased, Iris stuck her tongue out at her. 

"Nuh uh!" Iris protested, "Mine are cuter"

"Can we just try them already?" Leaf asked "I'm starving"

The trays were passed around the girls, each of them taking a single poffin. The bread-like texture of the treats was somewhat unappealing, however they pushed aside these concerns and took a bite.

Turns out there was a reason that they were idols and not bakers. 

Leaf spluttered and reached for a napkin, the rest of the girls didn't fair any better. Lillie and Marnie were the only ones able to reluctantly swallow their bites. 

"What did you put in that thing?" Mallow asked, taking another huge swig of water to rid her mouth of the awful taste.

"Lemme guess, gravel and dirt?" Leaf jabbed. "How did you mess up that badly?"

"I-" Iris began, but gave up trying to protest and accepted defeat. "I don't actually know"

"I just put in a bunch of the sour berries, isn't that what you were supposed to do?" Peonia asked, tipping the cursed Poffins into the bin. 

"If you were trying to make paint stripper, yes" May said coldly. "And Iris, did you even put any ingredients other than sugar in yours?" 

"Yes I did!" She whined "I just so happened to decide that my poffins should be a bit sweeter, so I added a little extra sugar..."

"A little, or the whole bag?" Janine asked, the sickly aftertaste of Iris' dreadful snack refused to leave her mouth. "I'm going to taste nothing but sugar for the next week" 

"They weren't.... that bad" Serena lied. Lillie nodded, face still distorted from the overwhelming sourness of Peonia's.... thing. Calling it a poffin would be an insult to every other poffin in existence.

"No, they were worse" Leaf added, earning a harsh glare from Serena. 

"Just..." May rubbed her fingers on her temples "Follow the recipe next time, alright?" 

"Ok, mom." Iris huffed, tipping her own creations into the bin alongside Peonia's. "I think we'll just get store bought ones next time."

"Sounds good" Marnie nodded. "I think both of you lost that competition"

"Well, at least that got the words flowing" Janine giggled "Even if it was just to say how awful your cooking is"

"Hush" Peonia ordered. 

"Well, look on the bright side" Lillie interjected "At least you can say you've baked poffins in Sinnoh, how many people can say they've done that, especially from Unova and Galar."

"Good point" May nodded "That's one thing off your bucket list, and that means that we never have to taste them again"

"Anyway, back to the songwriting" Janine slid into the seat next to Lillie. "I've no ideas. Can you all help me out?"

"Well, what inspires you?" Marnie asked. "When you're planning the choreography, what gets your inspiration flowing?"

Janine groaned and rested her head on the table. "That's just it, I don't know. Inspiration just kind of... comes to me" she sighed "And usually Mahina has already written the lyrics by that point, so I have something solid to work with"

"Well, what do you like about being an Idol?" Mallow asked. 

"Hmmm" she pondered the question for a bit. "I like that people look at me for more than just my appearance. I like that people admire me for my skills and not how I look" 

"That's a good start" Lillie began writing some notes onto the paper, the pen gently gliding over the smooth paper. 

"And....." Janine pause for a bit, before groaning in frustration "I've got no idea, I'm so sorry" 

"Well, we've got a start" Mallow smiled "We can always polish it up more later"

"Speaking of that" May looked at her watch "It's getting late, all of you need to head home."

"Ah..." Marnie sighed "I suppose that's true"

"Awww" Iris looked disappointed "I was having so much fun"

"Yeah, I guess we should" Leaf scratched the back of her neck. "It's been fun, but I guess all good things must come to an end"

"When's our next meet-up?" Lillie asked. 

"No idea" Serena looked at her notebook, dissatisfied. "I've got so much work to do, I'll have to get my projects done early... and then find some time in my schedule."

"Y'know, I think I'm going to camp in the wild area tonight" Peonia smiled, but her eyes showed nothing but sadness. "I don't really want to go home"

"Well... I guess we should get going then" Mallow smiled sadly. "I don't want my dad to get suspicious"

"Can you imagine what people would say if they found out why we've been sneaking out?" Iris giggled slightly. "I'm not sure I want to find out"

"Me either" Serena sighed.

That was something they all shared. All of them had different reasons for keeping their second life a secret, but none of them ever wanted to be found out. Life as an idol was always so different, they could be who they wanted to be. If they wanted to be girly, or speak their mind, or express themselves, or act like a kid, they could.

They didnt have piles of work on their desks, or the constant pressure to act like someone they weren't. They could struggle and fail as much as they wanted, they didn't have to look perfect and they were here because they wanted to be, not because of some stupid rule.

They could be who they wanted to be.

So they agreed to keep this life separate. They could do what they wanted here, they didn't have the pressure of their name, or the regular responsibilities forced on them.

"It's been fun" Leaf grinned "I'll see you all later"

And so they left. Mallow and Lillie took Togekiss, clutching the flying Pokemon tightly as they soared into the open sky. Leaf took her Crobat, while Janine took her Venomoth. May brought out her salamence and Peonia agreed to let Marnie share her Skarmory. 

"See you at the next meet!" Mallow called out to the group, as Togekiss flew them out over the open waters.

\-----------------------------------------------------------

After dropping Mallow off at her home, Togekiss carried it's exhausted trainer back to Kukui's home. Lillie drifted in and out of consciousness at some points of the journey, having to rely on Togekiss to stop her from falling.

Eventually, they landed on the beaches of Alola, Togekiss kicking up sand from the impact of hitting the ground.

"Togekiss, return" Lillie yawned. Togekiss disappeared into the ball with a flash of red. 

Stumbling through the front door of the house was the least of Lillie's problems, even though it felt like an impossible ordeal.

She looked at the ladder in front of her, and sighed. She would have to find a way up there after she was done in the bathroom. Even thinking about scaling the ladder in her state sounded like a form of torture.

"Better get myself washed up, huh?" She groggily said to herself. 

Her fingers began taking her hair down from the style Peonia had put it in, the faint crackle of hairspray making her wince. Once she had reached the bathroom, it hung down the sides of her face in its usual style, although parts of it stuck out in weird places, and clumped unnaturally thanks to the spray.

She began to splash some warm water on her face to rid it of the makeup. The silver eyeshadow dyed the water a sparkly hue before being sucked down the drain. 

After a few minutes of scrubbing, she looked at herself in the mirror, seeing her old self. Her usual self. Some mascara streaked down her cheeks, but a quick wipe with a cotton pad took care of that.

She was Lillie now, Mahina doesn't exist until the group meet up again.

Now the difficult bit.

She staggered back to the main room, facing the ladder with a defeated look. 

"Come on Lillie... it's just a ladder" she told herself, placing a single hand on one of the rungs. 

She pulled herself onto the first rung, having to use all the strength remaining in her tired body to prevent her from falling.

She reluctantly raised her hand by one rung, hoping to Arceus and all that is legendary that she didn't lose her grip and fall. 

She slowly climbed the ladder, using her legs instead of her arms. She used what little strength the single bite of poffins she had earlier had given her. It was not a lot, but by some miracle she was able to reach the loft.

Once the ladder was successfully scaled, Lillie didn't even have the energy to get dressed into her pyjamas. Instead, she collapsed onto the bed, pulling the covers over her head.

Not a moment too soon. 

As soon as she shut her eyes, she heard the distinct sound of Kukui walking towards the kitchen. She let out a quiet sigh, thankful that she hadn't hesitated for an extra second, or else she would have been caught. 

It was only 5:30, Alola time, so she should have an extra hour to catch up on sleep, or at least that's what she thought. 

"Hey, Lillie, You awake?" Kukui asked "I know it's early, but do you wanna help me make pancakes for breakfast?"

Lillie groaned, but not wanting to be disrespectful, she reluctantly got out of bed.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Trainer school was normally fun for Mallow, but when you have 1 hour of sleep, and a reputation to uphold, it becomes a lot less fun.

"Hey, Mallow!" Kiawe called after her as she walked "Did you get that assignment done last night?"

She sighed, before plastering on her normal smile and turning to Kiawe. "Assignment? I didnt know we had an assignment"

"Ah. The one about berries and their effects on battle?" He asked "Kukui's going to chew you out for that"

She giggled through the tiredness "I guess so, huh?"

"Busy at the restaurant, huh?" Kiawe asked, but didnt wait for an answer "I'm sure he'll understand"

"I hope so" Mallow spotted the school in the distance, a silent saviour.

"Are you alright? You seem tired." Kiawe prodded. Mallow pushed down her annoyance.

She was exhausted, so she was finding it difficult to maintain her 'I'm always excited and happy' persona. She had to be that way, because no one likes it when someone isn't a literal ray of sunshine, even when that person is forced to run a restaurant that she doesn't even like, and forced to do assignments that she couldn't care less about.

No. She has to be happy, she always has to be happy because she's meant to be the responsible one. She can't be sad, or doubt herself.

Kaliko can be who she wants to be, but Mallow can't.

"Haha, yep. We had a lot of cleaning to do at the restaurant last night, I didnt get much sleep" Mallow plastered on her usual grin, which seemed to fool Kiawe.

"Ah, sorry to hear that" Mallow continued to smile, no matter how much her tired body wanted to collapse onto the sandy beach.

"It's no problem, I'll probably wake up a bit once I get some schoolwork done"

She wouldn't, but she could certainly act like it.

She tried her best to maintain the small talk on her way to the classroom, even if it was just repeating a lot of what Kiawe said, occasionally adding a phrase like "that sounds awful" or "wow, that's so cool".

Upon entering the classroom, she felt a little bit better upon realising she wasn't the only one struggling. Lillie had bags under her eyes that made her look like a pangoro. The girl looked completely frazzled, and her social anxiety did not contribute anything to help this fact. 

Lillie looked like a scared skitty, jumping at the slightest action and staring blankly at anyone who attempted to make conversation, opening her mouth like a fish, but no words coming out. 

She met Mallow's eye as she walked into the class, seeing how she had the same eye bags as herself. She was able to smile slightly upon seeing someone that understood her pain. 

Mallow felt comforted knowing she wasn't the worst off in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes about this chapter 
> 
> If you couldn't tell, the girls all have stage names, and a colour assigned to them.  
> Marnie (pink) - Marie  
> Janine (purple) - Apricot  
> May (orange)- June  
> Serena (Red)- Sereine  
> Leaf (teal)- Hana  
> Lillie (white/silver)- Mahina  
> Mallow (dark green) - Kaliko  
> Peonia (yellow)- flùr  
> Iris (dark blue) - Kayda  
> (I did my research into the characters to try find appropriate names. If anything feels off please tell me)
> 
> The song, Sekishishoku (赤紫色) just means magenta. I thought it was an appropriate name for Marnie's debut, and I had the song Nico Puri in my mind when writing this scene.
> 
> Feedback/criticism appreciated!


	2. What's seen is only ever skin deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Performance inspired by - No brand girls

~❤️Idols❤️~

SereineGrace: Hey, so I know we're having trouble with lyrics and all. But I sketched up some outfits that I really like  
SereineGrace: I think it would really suit Janine.  
SereineGrace: *image*

TinyDragon: OMGGGGG I LOVE IT

SereineGrace: Ah, thank you.  
SereineGrace: That could be Janine's outfit, and I'll use the same base for all of ours but tone it down a bit.

LeafMeAlone: It has a cape?  
LeafMeAlone: LOL she'll look like Lance 

MayIHaveYourAttention: Very nice.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: this won't be too hard for you? This is our first two piece idol outfit, are you sure you can handle it?

SereineGrace: That's the least of my problems right now.  
SereineGrace: if I can get through my mountain of paperwork, this will be a welcome break.

Marshmallow: I love it!  
Marshmallow: it's like a cheerleader style.

WaterLily: it's already giving me some ideas for lyrics.  
WaterLily: I love it.

RoseMarnie: No complaints here

DropDeadGorgeous: It's perfect, I hope we can wear it soon  
DropDeadGorgeous: Ahhhh, you've already got me stage-sick 

MayIHaveYourAttention: Stage-sick?

DropDeadGorgeous: Like homesick  
DropDeadGorgeous: I guess the stage is kind of my home tbh 

TinyDragon: it's been less than a day and I already miss you all so much  
TinyDragon: ):

LeafMeAlone: same here

MayIHaveYourAttention: What about costs?  
MayIHaveYourAttention: will the fabric be too expensive.

SereineGrace: Nope  
SereineGrace: it'll actually cost less since I don't have to cover the midriff

DropDeadGorgeous: Also, we have our personal bank  
DropDeadGorgeous: Lillie

Marshmallow: Peonia!

DropDeadGorgeous: oh, sorry  
DropDeadGorgeous: No offence, Lillie

WaterLily: ahaha, none taken

LeafMeAlone: we just have to ask Janine if she's okay with it.

ToxicSpikes: Is that our new outfits?

SereineGrace: That's the idea, if you have any suggestions please let me know 

ToxicSpikes: Ah.  
ToxicSpikes: It's a bit... revealing

MayIHaveYourAttention: Aren't all our outfits like that?

ToxicSpikes: Well, yes but no  
ToxicSpikes: none of them have ever shown our stomach before

TinyDragon: I don't see the problem  
TinyDragon: You look good in anything 

SereineGrace: Ah, if it's a problem then I can scrap the idea

ToxicSpikes: No, I wouldn't feel right if you threw away a whole idea just for me

MayIHaveYourAttention: And the rest of us wouldn't feel right if it made you uncomfortable  
MayIHaveYourAttention: You have no obligation to wear it if you don't want to

ToxicSpikes: '~_~  
ToxicSpikes: I still don't feel right about it

LeafMeAlone: What are you afraid of, exactly?

ToxicSpikes: I dunno  
ToxicSpikes: I feel uncomfy about my midsection  
ToxicSpikes: I think it'd be fine if I wasn't centre  
ToxicSpikes: Actually, scratch that. It wouldn't 

RoseMarnie: We don't have to use this idea  
RoseMarnie: I don't think I'd be able to perform if I knew you weren't happy

WaterLily: same here

TinyDragon: I mean  
TinyDragon: I don't really get it, but we won't force you if your uncomfortable.

DropDeadGorgeous: it's just like wearing a crop-top, right?

ToxicSpikes: I can't wear those either

DropDeadGorgeous: seriously?

ToxicSpikes: T-T  
ToxicSpikes: I'm sorry. I feel horrible about this

Marshmallow: Don't !  
Marshmallow: Everyone has boundaries 

ToxicSpikes: but I'm an idol  
ToxicSpikes: idols have to look perfect  
ToxicSpikes: I don't look perfect  
ToxicSpikes: I'm not even that girly to begin with  
ToxicSpikes: I shouldn't even be a part of this group

MayIHaveYourAttention: Janine Murasakino Takahashi, I will not tolerate such thoughts  
MayIHaveYourAttention: Don't ever think that you don't deserve to be here.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: You are just as important to this group as anyone else

LeafMeAlone: Yeah, you look fine  
LeafMeAlone: and even if you didn't, who cares?  
LeafMeAlone: I'll beat up anyone who makes you feel bad about yourself

DropDeadGorgeous: Count me in.

Marshmallow: me too

RoseMarnie: I will enlist team yell to help

WaterLily: Please don't think that about yourself  
WaterLily: The group wouldn't be the same without you.

TinyDragon: You're really pretty Janine  
TinyDragon: So don't be sad!

ToxicSpikes: Ah, I'm sorry for making a scene

SereineGrace: It's no problem  
SereineGrace: Also, it was just a sketch, I can create plenty more of them  
SereineGrace: I don't think I'll use this idea after all

ToxicSpikes: Wait, no  
ToxicSpikes: all of you were so excited about this

LeafMeAlone: But we see that you don't like it  
LeafMeAlone: so we'd much rather scrap the idea completely thank make you uncomfortable

ToxicSpikes: I don't get why you're doing all this for me

TinyDragon: Because we're friends UwU

DropDeadGorgeous: never say UwU ever again  
DropDeadGorgeous: but yeah, we're friends, and friends do that for each other

ToxicSpikes: I...  
ToxicSpikes: Thanks

LeafMeAlone: what are friends for (;

ToxicSpikes: I think I need some time to think.  
ToxicSpikes: ttyl 

\-----------------------------------------------------------

\-----------------------------------------------------------

Serena sat her phone down on the desk, before looking back at the sketch in front of her. 

She would have looked forward to sewing an outfit like that, but if Janine wasn't comfortable with it then there wasn't much that could be done about it. 

Yet for some reason she didn't discard the drawing. 

She kept it on her desk, even when it quickly became buried by the mountain of paperwork. The mountain of paperwork she had to finish by this evening.

She wished that being a fashion designer was more fun, and less.... dull. The stack of documents about everything from prices of fabrics down to marketing discrepancies. She missed when designing was actually about.... designing. She'd be lucky to design a single outfit in a week, or they'd say "come up with 20 original designs by the end of the week".

There was no in-between, and Arceus it was frustrating.

She wasn't even getting paid. Apparently all this work came with the glory of being a designer, even though Valerie never seemed to have this much to do.

Serena stared down at the swirly calligraphy, it was deceptively attractive, like how an old fashioned letter to a king would be written. But instead of being full of interesting language, propositions, threats or literally anything that wasn't drivel, the words themselves were the most mind-numbing things ever known to man.

It's not like she had a choice though.

She sighed deeply, clicking her pen on the table. 

The sketch was buried under tons of paper.

\----------------------------

"That was a brilliant attempt." Janine recalled her Venomoth, facing the trainer with a smile. "You may not have won the badge today, but continue to improve, and challenge me again once you think you're ready"

"Y-yes miss" the challenger nodded. His fainted Blastoise was quickly recalled back to his ball. 

Janine bowed slightly, and the challenger began to navigate through the maze once more, this time attempting to leave. 

"Is that our last challenger for the day, Alice?" Janine asked one of the many lookalikes. To an outside eye maybe, but when you have to work with them every day, you notice slight differences, such as the hair being slightly too spiked, or how the scarf never sit perfectly on her neck.

"Yes, boss" she saluted, posture perfectly straight. 

"That's good" Janine sighed "I think I'm going to turn in now, can I trust you to lock up the gym?"

The girl trembled a little at the newfound responsibility. "Are you sure, Miss? You never leave early."

"I'm sure" Janine sighed "Make sure the doors are locked, check nothing is trapped in the maze, and get everyone home"

"Is anything wrong, Miss?" Alice asked, glancing around at the rest of the trainers "This isn't like you"

"No, everything's fine. I'm just tired today" Janine smiled 

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Alice asked, unaware that Janine's patience was beginning to wear thin.

"Yes. I'm sure" she replied, a bit more bite to her words than necessary. "Now, I want you to lock up the gym as soon as I leave. Am I making myself crystal clear?"

"Ah. Sorry Ma'am" Alice saluted again. "I'll ensure everyone is out safely, have a good evening"

She sighed with slight relief. Had it been 7 months earlier, she never would have snapped at any of her trainers, but idols change people. Especially when you're friends with May. 

She hated to admit that May's mother-like tendencies were rubbing off on her. 

"Okay, good evening, Alice" she flashed a smile, before turning to navigate the maze. 

For someone who grew up there, the maze could hardly even be considered a maze anymore. Even though she may have gotten lost in it a few times when she was younger, which Koga refused to stop teasing her for, nowadays she was different. The maze lost it's charm. 

Nothing brightens someone's mood like sticking your leg out an extra 2° and kicking a solid glass wall. The stinging pain that Janine was so used to never failed to make her day that little bit worse.

The walk home was always a welcome feeling. The gentle winds blowing through her spiked hair was a feeling she would never tire of. Sure, it was nothing compared to the thrill of the spotlight, but it was about as exciting as normal life could get.

Oh yeah, her Idol life.

Whatever remained of her joyous mood quickly evaporated as she recalled the conversation from earlier. That outfit.

Surely she was overreacting, right? It was just a bit of fabric that showed her stomach. It's nothing to be scared of. 

So then why was she so scared?

She shook her head, hoping that it would get rid of the doubts that settled there. It was just regular stress. That's all it was.

She tried to get rid of the bad feeling that settled in her gut, even when it seemed to seep through her veins, like the poison she was so fond of. 

The feeling refused to leave, even when she traversed through her favourite parts of her walk home. Not even the calming breeze and forest scent could whisk away her doubts.

When she approached the front door of her house, she let out a defeated sigh. Another day of lounging around, doing nothing of value. It wasn't even as though she could get started on the choreography, since they still had no idea what the song was going to be about in the first place.

And, she had a father that wouldn't help matters at all. Hiding stuff from parents is difficult at the best of times, but it goes from hard to damn near impossible when your parent is a ninja, y'know, someone's job to sneak around and not be seen.

She had absolutely no idea how she kept up this deception for so long, a combination of smooth talking and gently persuading (okay, bribing) her gym trainers to provide alibis. The one thing that Janie knew for certain was that she was better at lying than her father was and that was something she was proud of.

It takes a rouge to catch a rouge, they say. Maybe it was true for Ninja's too.

It takes a Ninja to trick a Ninja? 

With a sigh, Janine walked onto the patio, keys jingling from her hand as she unlocked the door. 

Expecting to meet her father in the doorway, Janine raised an eyebrow to find the hall empty. A note was lying on the counter.

"Elite four business. I'll be back in the evening.  
Koga x"

Normally she would have questioned this, perhaps been a bit more cautious but today had already worn her patience thin, and she was just glad to not have something else to deal with. 

She walked back to her room after locking the door behind her. At least she had a few hours of relaxation. A few hours where she could unwind, maybe even get some of the work done for her next concert.

She pulled out her phone, seeing a new message from Lillie. 

"If you have any ideas for lyrics, let me know xxx"

Oh yeah, Lyrics. She still had to find a way to get them done. 

She quickly typed a message back. "Alright, will do <3" 

A message pinged back within a few seconds. "Are we still doing this about appearances? Or have you got another idea. There's no rush, I've no idea when our next performance even is"

Appearance.... 

"I mean, I guess it's personal to me? It might be too heavy for the group though, I could change it to something more lighthearted if you want?"

Janine mulled over the thought for a moment. If she was honest, her appearance was definitely a big part of being an idol, it was definitely something that she felt strongly about. Although, perhaps writing about her insecurities in the form of a song wasn't the best idea.

Her audience wouldn't want to hear about her own personal problems, they don't come to concerts to hear depressing confessions, they come to the concerts to be happy, too forget about their own struggles for a while.

She couldn't be honest about this. It wouldn't fit with the brand.

A message from Lillie quickly pinged back. "The more honest it is, the better. This song is about you, remember?"

Janine sighed again, before replying "I know, but I don't think people want to hear about my insecurities, do they?"

Lillie replied with a single word "Insecurities?"

Janine began to shake slightly as she typed a reply "I don't really like how I look. And I was thinking about how I like the group so much because no one really cares?"

She typed another message before Lillie could reply "I won't lie and say that looking good isn't an important part of being an idol, it definitely is. But when I'm with the group, I don't find myself thinking about how I'm the worst looking. I feel like that a lot when I'm not with the group"

"That's not true! Why do you think that?"

Janine groaned. Expressing her feelings was never easy at the best of times, but she knew that Lillie was someone she could trust, so she kept writing.

"I never feel pretty. I never feel satisfied with how I look" she continued "It's even worse when I'm in my gym, because everyone looks like me. It's like a reminder of what I could look like."

"Don't they look identical to you though?"

"They do, but then it feels like I'm lying to myself. I feel like they are a prettier version of myself, that they are a perfect version of me" Janine struggled to put her feelings into words "I know we look identical, but I can always pick out all my own flaws, I can point out all the imperfections in my skin, and every curve that I don't like, but I can never do that with my trainers"

"Everyone has flaws though, you shouldn't just focus on them"

"Easier said than done" Janine ran a hand through her spiked hair "That's why I don't know if I should write about it"

"It'd be inspiring though. It'd remind our audience that everyone has flaws, but there's always more to someone than just that" 

"I really don't know. I'll have another think about it later" Janine stared at the ceiling blankly for a moment before typing. "Anyway, I've got the house to myself for today, so I'm gonna make the most of it"

"O: please be careful"

"Will do x"

\------------------------

An hour of doing nothing very productive was definitely what Janine needed. 

She absentmindedly munched on a bowl of cereal. It was a sugary cereal, complete with little marshmallows. Normally Koga never would have allowed her to eat something like that, but even the most sneaky of ninjas can be outsmarted by hiding a cereal box under her bed, apparently.

The tiny confections swirled around in the pool of milk, some of the dye turning the milk a hue of pink.

"You should do elite four business more often" Janine thought, taking a spoonful of the sugary goodness. 

She pulled out her phone. She scrolled through the conversations on the idol group chat, only somewhat paying attention.

Something she liked about the chat was how it could go from "alright, and that's why I believe that the higher thread count fabric will reduce chafing especially around the joints, however it will cause slight financial strain" to "My piano is my favourite thing to yell at" in the span of a few minutes.

It was certainly chaotic, but that only added to the overall charm.

One message from a few hours earlier caught her eye as she scrolled. A message from Marnie, reading "Did you all see the video of our concert on YanmaTube? So many comments XP".

The next message was a link, which Janine didn't hesitate to tap on. 

She was directed to YanmaTube, where it showed a video from a regular pop-star channel. The type of channel that had music videos for almost any mainstream song you could think of.

The video itself seemed to be the footage that the cameras had captured of the concert, but with the studio recording audio layered over it. Honestly, the final effect wasn't too bad.

She sat in the kitchen and watched the entire video, feeling the song tug at her heartstrings slightly. Peonia was right about being stage-sick, just watching herself up on that illuminated stage was enough to cause her heart to long for the spotlight once more.

But she couldn't go back there, at least not until she had got the song written already. And the outfits made, and the instruments recorded, and the choreography finished. 

The outfits... 

She still didn't feel right about having Serena scrap the idea completely. So many people would kill to have Serena design a dress for them, yet here she was, complaining.

Well, there goes whatever optimism she had. 

She looked down at the view counter for the video, expecting to see something like 2,000 or 3,000 views.

"3 Million?" She said out loud from shock. Sure, a lot of those would be people watching it multiple times, but that was still a lot of people.

It was like they were real stars now. 

She opened her mouth like a fish, no words coming out. Even when she refreshed the page, the number didn't go down. 

People really liked them. At least she could tell May that their online debut was a success.

She scrolled down to the comments, seeing that there were 16k so far. She had never expected... this! But it was happening, and it was amazing.

"Marie rocks the stage!" Was the most liked comment, with 3k likes. The one below it was very similar, simply reading "Love this group so much ❤️" with 2.2k likes.

Janine was quickly sucked down the rabbit hole of YanmaTube comments. Every comment seemed to have something positive to say, and she had to admit that it felt nice. Call her conceited, but that was the truth. There was something nice about the validation from strangers on the internet.

Curiosity taking over, she typed the word "Apricot" into the comment search bar, curious as to what people said about her specifically. 

'As usual, Apricot takes the award for 'most underrated member''

Awww, that's sweet .

'Genuinely wish Apricot got more love, everyone talks about Mahina all the time. Only people with good taste like Apricot'

A flush rose to her face, feeling bashful over a simple compliment.

'Can we take a minute to talk about Apricot? Like damn, I would pay her to step on me'

... a bit weird, but okay.

She took her time while reading through the comments, each compliment tugging at her heartstrings. Outside of battles, she never really got that many compliments, so she never knew how to react to them. 

' Imagine being the only ugly one in the group, oh wait, that's Apricot'

...what?

Janine froze as she read over the last comment. It was just one person. It was just one comment. It was just one comment out of the hundreds of positive ones she had just read.

So why did it feel like a stab to the gut?

She abruptly pressed the power button on her phone, causing it to immediately shut down. It slid from her grasp, and onto the hard kitchen counter with a loud bang. Normally she would have been concerned about cracking the screen, but that thought didn't even occur to her as she stared off into space.

So people did think she was ugly after all. She wasn't lying to herself. 

She looked down at her bowl, seeing a few drops of liquid drip into the milk. It took her a moment to realise why, as when she raised her hands to feel her cheeks, they were definitely wet.

Why was she so worked up about all this? It was just one comment, one person's opinion of her, and yet it seemed to stick in her mind so much more than the thousands of comments praising her.

Appetite thoroughly ruined, she tipped the remainder of the cereal into the bin, before throwing the bowl into the sink. The crash as it hit the sides of the metal sink confirmed that she had hit her target. 

She set off into her bedroom with a determined look in her eyes.

\---------------------------------------

WaterLily created a new group called "Idols minus Janine"

WaterLily added LeafMeAlone, MayIHaveYourAttention, TinyDragon, Marshmallow, RoseMarnie, DropDeadGorgeous and SereineGrace.

DropDeadGorgeous: What is this? A gossip chat?

RoseMarnie: Why is there no Janine?

WaterLily: I feel kinda bad about talking behind her back, but I felt I needed to say something  
WaterLily: It's about Janine

TinyDragon: Spill!

WaterLily: You remember the issue with the outfits from earlier?

MayIHaveYourAttention: Kind of hard to forget

WaterLily: well, I think I have an idea of why  
WaterLily: We were talking about lyrics, and she said quite a few things that made me worried  
WaterLily: I think it's best if I just show the convo  
WaterLily: *screenshots*

LeafMeAlone: Damn, did she really say all that?

Marshmallow: so she doesn't like how she looks? :(

MayIHaveYourAttention: That's concerning to say the least  
MayIHaveYourAttention: I noticed her hesitating when it comes to makeup or anything like that, but I didn't know the extent.

TinyDragon: She doesn't like herself?  
TinyDragon: But she's so pretty!

RoseMarnie: I don't really know what to say

DropDeadGorgeous: Okay, since we're putting things out in the open. I kind of noticed something was up with her a while back.  
DropDeadGorgeous: I never really knew how to bring it up though, since it happened a while ago.

LeafMeAlone: If you want an example of a perfect time to share this, I'd say this is it

TinyDragon: Please tell us!

DropDeadGorgeous: Back when we first started the group, she came to me just before our first show.  
DropDeadGorgeous: She asked if I'd be alright with teaching her how to do her makeup herself, instead of me doing it to her.  
DropDeadGorgeous: I asked her why, and she got kind of uncomfortable and didn't really answer me. After that I noticed she was wearing makeup to more than just our performances, she was wearing it to practices, and I even saw her wearing some during a gym battle.

RoseMarnie: So she's insecure because of the idol group? 

LeafMeAlone: that isn't it.  
LeafMeAlone: I've known Janine for years, and no offence to her or anything, but yeah, I noticed that she was a bit insecure over how she looked  
LeafMeAlone: I think the idol group just made it worse

MayIHaveYourAttention: I wish I'd known about all this sooner

WaterLily: Me too

Marshmallow: So she's been unhappy with herself all this time and never told us?  
Marshmallow: Aren't we friends?

LeafMeAlone: Yeah, that's just the type of person Janine is  
LeafMeAlone: She doesn't like talking about her insecurities  
LeafMeAlone: Who does, tbh?

TinyDragon: Janine needs a hug so badly T-T

DropDeadGorgeous: for once I agree with Iris

WaterLily: The reason I brought this up was because i was concerned  
WaterLily: But also, I think this is why she doesn't like the outfits Serena designed.

RoseMarnie: Where is Serena?

MayIHaveYourAttention: Paperwork. She's overloaded right now  
MayIHaveYourAttention: probably won't get these messages until later  
MayIHaveYourAttention: But yeah, I think you're right

LeafMeAlone: I should've noticed something was wrong sooner  
LeafMeAlone: If she's at the stage where she's can't even show her stomach without getting uncomfortable...  
LeafMeAlone: I really don't want to think about what would happen if we didn't realise this when we did.

Marshmallow: Oh Arceus that's a scary thought

RoseMarnie: ...

TinyDragon: So what do we do about this?  
TinyDragon: We can't just let her think that about herself ):

MayIHaveYourAttention: Well we have to do something.

WaterLily: Agreed

DropDeadGorgeous: Do you think we should try convince her to wear the outfit after all?  
DropDeadGorgeous: I know she might not be comfortable with it, but it might be good to force her out of her comfort zone a bit

MayIHaveYourAttention: I think so  
MayIHaveYourAttention: We shouldn't just confront her about this  
MayIHaveYourAttention: if we do, she'll probably just deny everything

WaterLily: So, do you have something in mind?

MayIHaveYourAttention: Yes. But I'll need Serena's help.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: Actually, I think I'll need everyone's help here

Marshmallow: count me in!

TinyDragon: I have no idea what you have planned, but I love it so far

RoseMarnie: I'll help out as well

MayIHaveYourAttention: Can we have our daily meeting tomorrow a little later than usual?

TinyDragon: Sure, I've got the day off anyway

RoseMarnie: Should I bring my guitar?

MayIHaveYourAttention: If you can, then yes.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: Bring instruments if possible  
MayIHaveYourAttention: I can't really bring a piano anywhere though, and I guess Iris can't really bring a drum kit either....

Marshmallow: depends on the time, I might have to come up with a cover for school.  
Marshmallow: If I can come I'll bring my Bass

WaterLily: I'll come up with an excuse for the two of us  
WaterLily: The professor will believe me

MayIHaveYourAttention: Alright, so the plan is...

\---------------------------------------------

Yeah, she was right.

She looked in the mirror, analysing all the curves of her stomach, all the imperfections in the skin. She looked at how awful she looked, how disgusting and freakish the person in the mirror was.

The cropped top and shorts were a combination she had sworn never to wear again. The last time she had tried it hadn't gone well. 

That reflection was hideous. The girl in the mirror looked so frail.

The girl in the mirror wasn't an idol. 

"This is stupid" Janine grumbled, desperately trying to push back the tears that pricked her eyes. If she could just replace it with anger, she'd be alright. "No wonder people think I'm ugly"

She turned away from the mirror abruptly, marching back into the kitchen. The box of cereal was still sitting on the counter, and the dirty bowl was lying in the sink.

As long as she didn't think about what's she was wearing, it should be fine. 

She turned the taps to hot, watching as the steaming water gushed from the kitchen tap. She added a splash of dish soap, which formed a layer of foamy bubbles over the dish.

She hummed one of their songs as she washed the bowl, the occasional splash of hot water on her midriff served as a painful reminder that the outfit didn't cover any of her stomach. 

"What's with the outfit?" A voice whispered in her ear. 

Janine yelped and dropped the dish, wincing as she heard the familiar sound of shattered ceramic. 

"Dad?" She gasped, jerking back abruptly.

"Fwahaha" Koga laughed from behind her "You should never let your guard down, Janine"

Her arms automatically went to guard her midriff, trying to slow her breathing from the sudden shock. "You gave me a heart attack" she protested, looking down at the shards of white that littered the floor.

"Sorry, sorry" Koga apologised sheepishly "I couldn't resist another opportunity to test you. I have to make sure you're taking your studies seriously, Hm?"

"Yes. But there's a difference between 'checking on me' and 'scaring me out of my skin'" Janine huffed "Now I have to clean up."

Koga stepped back a bit, looking down at the broken shards on the floor. "Yes, I suppose so. But you still haven't answered my question, young lady"

"What question?" Janine asked, grabbing the broom from near the edge of the kitchen counter. 

"What's with the outfit?" Koga repeated, taking note of how his daughter shielded her tummy with her arms. 

"Change of pace" Janine lied, beginning to sweep up the shards from the floor. Koga pulled himself up onto the kitchen counter to let Janine sweep under his feet. 

"Really?" He didn't sound convinced. "What were you saying earlier in your bedroom? Something about-" he was cut off by Janine.

"You were IN MY ROOM?" She shrieked "Do you know what privacy is?"

"Yes, but I expected you to notice me as soon as you walked in, instead you seemed much more fixated on-" he was cut off yet again.

"Yes, but there's a difference between 'I'm going to test Janine's observation' and 'I'm going to hide in my daughters room and spy on her as she gets changed'" Janine huffed.

"Perhaps so, but you seemed preoccupied with-"

"Anyways, what did you do at the elite four today? Must have been important" Janine swept the shards into a dustpan, before emptying it into the bin.

"Janine." Koga dropped down from the counter, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Is there a reason you're avoiding this conversation"

"Avoiding what?" Janine feigned ignorance, which caused Koga to send a harsh glare her way.

"A change of pace? I wasn't born yesterday, child" Koga smiled slightly, a hint of smugness 

"It's nothing important" she lied. 

"Janine-"

"I said it's nothing" Janine slammed the dustpan on the counter. A deafening silence fell over the room, Janine refusing to make eye contact. 

The silence was only broken when Janine looked across the counter and noticed that the cereal box was gone. 

"Hey! You took my cereal"

Koga suddenly appeared by the opposite door, at the other end of the kitchen. The man certainly was fast. He held the box in one hand, swinging it back and forth with a smug grin on his face. "This cereal?" 

Janine tried to scramble over to grab the box from her father, unfortunately, Koga was faster and decked out in his full ninja gear, putting Janine at a hopeless disadvantage.

Janine could hear Koga say "If you feel like talking, I might give your cereal back." Janine cursed him from under her breath as she looked down the empty hallway.

At least the cereal shenanigans had temporarily taken her mind off of things, she almost forgot that she was wearing that stupid outfit to begin with.

Unfortunately, that only lasted a few seconds, and her arms instinctively went to cover her tummy as soon as Koga was out of sight.

\-------------------------

Another day, same story

Serena looked at her desk with a sigh. The piles of paper were still scattered over her desk from the previous night. She hoped that the 3 hours of sleep she got was enough to motivate her to finish the rest of it.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she plopped back into her chair. All the stupid paperwork.... why did she have to do all this? She was just a kid. 

But no one cares about that, do they? 

Whatever optimism she had for the day abruptly left her body as she looked at the papers on her desk. Another day of working for 8 hours, with the occasional bowl of instant noodles, and maybe time to exchange a few messages with her friends, if she was lucky.

In order to clear some space, Serena parted the sea of papers down the middle, several sheets were knocked from the desk and fluttered to the ground, but she could get them later. She just needed somewhere to work. 

She gazed at the newly-freed spot on the desk, choosing to ignore the hundreds of papers that had fallen to the floor. She pulled the pen from her pocket with a heavy sigh, about to start working when something caught her eye.

A splash of purple broke up the sea of ivory. She curiously tugged on the corner of it, pulling the paper into the centre of the space she had cleared. 

It was the sketch she had done a while ago. 

[](https://ibb.co/R98vdSP)

Looking over the drawing once more, she felt more conflicted than ever. 

She would've loved to make those outfits, but if Janine wasn't comfortable, there wasn't much she could do about it. 

Even if she really wanted to make those outfits.

Even if she really wanted to try sewing an outfit like that.

Even if-

The buzzing of her phone cut off her intrusive thoughts. She peered down at the new message with curiosity. 

"Hey, I know you're busy and haven't been online lately but we need your help with something important so I DM'd you." From May

Even though she wasn't supposed to check her phone during her work hours, Serena knew that whatever this was probably couldn't wait. Any thoughts of busywork were promptly discarded.

"Sure, what do you need me for? X" she typed swiftly. 

The response was short and to the point "Check the idol gc. Tell me if you'd be on board"

It took her around 10 minutes to read through the huge backlog of messages. At least all this paperwork had made her a fast reader. 

It definitely put a few things into perspective for her. If Janine was really this uncomfortable with herself, there's no wonder she turned down these outfits.

After a few minutes with no response, May messaged her again. "So, you think you can sew that quickly?" 

A devilish grin took over Serena's face as she replied "Try me." 

She dropped the phone onto the counter, disregarding any damage it could have done. Before pushing back from the desk. She swept her hands across the wood dramatically, causing thousands of pieces of paper to fly into the air. 

It looked almost majestic, as the paper gently fluttered down to the ground like a thousand white doves. Serena didn't even care how long it would take her to clean up and re-organise the papers, she had sewing to do.

She ran from the office, trampling on the fallen paper as though they were a layer of autumn leaves that had collected on the ground. Without hesitation, she sprinted to the fabric room, eyes immediately locking onto a particular fabric she had in mind for this exact job.

Within a few minutes, the fabric scissors were snipping through the material effortlessly, and Serena felt happy to finally do something she enjoyed.

\-------------------------

Venomoth touched down on the grass, and Janine could instantly tell that something was up. 

Not only did the group agree to meet in Mahogany town of all places, but the group had for some reason agreed to meet out by the outskirts, the bit surrounded by trees. 

Not only was this incredibly dangerous, it was also just as confusing. Maybe the group wanted to get inspired by nature? If that was the case then there were a million better places to go than here.

Janine walked into the forest area, where the group promised they'd wait for her.  
"What the-?" 

She was greeted by her friends, all poised in a semi-circle as she approached. What drew her attention most, however, was how they all looked at her expectantly. As if she was supposed to do something that she was unaware of.

Her eyes drifted from their sparkling eyes down to their clothes. 

Janine couldn't believe her eyes. 

"You, made the outfits?" She asked hesitantly, turning to face Serena. 

"Mhm. Sewed them from scratch" she had a huge smile on her face, like she knew something that Janine didn't. In fact, everyone seemed to have a similar expression. It certainly put Janine on edge.

"She's very fast at sewing" May clarified.

"Yeah, it's kind of scary" Lillie added.

The eight girls were wearing outfits similar to what May had sketched, the colours matching their corresponding member. The bold letter on the front of the dual coloured top's matched their stage names, even if that did mean that there were two 'K's and two 'M's. 

The vastly different colours were more than enough to distinguish them, however. The skirts they wore were pleated, and stopped at the mid-thigh. Small capes that reached just above their elbows draped down each of their shoulders.

Janine looked around at the eight, feeling their enthusiastic expressions begin to bore into her mind. "What's the catch here?"

Leaf's grin morphed into a more smug one "Well, you remember how you're the centre for our new song?" 

The cogs turned in Janine's head for a split second, before it clicked what Leaf was implying. "You didn't..?"

"Aaaahhh!" Iris shrieked from excitement "I can't take this anymore. Just give it to her already!"

Mallow sheepishly held out a black carrier bag to Janine, who only stared at it in confusion. 

"What is it?" She had a suspicion, but she wanted to make sure before she did anything rash.

"It's your new outfit!" Peonia smiled "You're the centre, remember?"

"What?" Janine blurted out. She stepped back, as though the plastic bag was an angry Charizard instead of a bit of plastic. "Didn't I say that I couldn't be centre in those outfits?"

"Actually, that's kind of why we did it" Marnie muttered 

Janine looked at the group, completely flabbergasted. May offered an explanation. "Before you get mad at us. Just listen for a second" 

Janine folded her arms, and tried her hardest not to look as scared as she felt "I'm listening"

"Lillie was concerned about you, and she came to us" Marnie began "She showed us the conversation the two of you had"

Janine felt a twinge of betrayal at that, but she tried to keep her head clear and refused to let anger cloud her judgment. "The one about song lyrics? I swear I'm trying to find inspiration, it's just-"

"You know that isn't what we meant" Peonia warned. 

Janine thought that if she feigned being unaware, they might drop the subject. It was unlikely, but how else could she get out of this. "It isn't? Is this about me having the house to myself then?"

"Janine, you know exactly what we mean" May cut in. "The fact that you won't admit it proves that it's true"

She stiffened at that comment, every muscle in her body was telling her to run, to sprint into the forest, to get as far away from everyone as possible.

"Why didn't you talk to us about this?" Leaf gently placed a hand on Janine's shoulder as Mallow spoke "We would've listened"

Janine tensed up even more at the physical contact, and she suddenly found herself unable to meet anyone's gaze. 

"Yeah." Lillie agreed "I don't really understand it, but we all could've helped"

Janine reluctantly held out her arm, taking the bag from Mallow while simultaneously shaking Leaf's hand away. With shaking hands, she held the bag open.

She saw the folded purple fabric, the large 'A' that decorated the front. Even from just a small glimpse from in the bag, she knew it was high quality, yet here she was, complaining.

"It's alright." Janine said, even as her entire body trembled "It's not that big a deal"

"So you'll wear it?" Iris asked expectantly. A wide grin spread across her face, but she seemed to be the only one who didn't notice Janine's trembling.

"I'll...." Janine looked back up at the group, which turned out to be a mistake. She choked on a sob as she fell to her knees.

That seemed to send the group into protective mode, as before Janine knew it she was being hugged by 8 people at once. The plastic bag fell onto the ground with a soft crinkle.

"I'm s-sorry" Janine stammered, which only made the group hug her tighter, bombarding her with supportive words. 

"No no no, don't apologise."

"Please don't be sad"

"There's nothing to apologise for"

"I promise you'll look great"

Janine sniffed, she'd never let herself cry in front of anyone before. She'd always been taught to be stoic around others, but the floodgates had burst now. 

"I'm so sorry for not noticing this sooner" May sighed "You shouldn't have had to go through all this by yourself"

"'S not your fault" Janine rubbed her face with her sleeve. "I'm a gym leader, I should be able to handle my insecurities by myself" 

The girl's gently pried themselves away from Janine, who still had quite a few tears rolling down her face. "I'm supposed to be strong. I'm not supposed to doubt myself" she murmured "That's what Koga always told me..."

"Well Koga doesn't know what he's talking about then" Mallow huffed 

"Yeah, no offence but your dad can fuck off" Peonia crossed her arms. May sent a harsh glare her way, and Janine saw Iris elbow her in the ribs for her language.

"What Peonia meant to say" Serena interjected "Was that you aren't weak for expressing your emotions. We want to know if you're having a hard time, because we want to help"

May nodded, before adding "We're all in this group together, so we don't keep stuff from each other" a small smirk formed on her face "If I find out you're keeping anything else from me then there will be consequences"

"I know you've felt like this for a while" Leaf walked over to rub her shoulder again "But for as long as I've known you, you've never been one to shy away from a challenge."

"I can't wear it..." Janine mumbled, looking down at the plastic bag on the floor "I'm hideous"

"Say that again and I'll slap you" Lead stated bluntly. 

"You're not though!" Iris protested "You're beautiful, just as much as all of us."

Janine stared down at the contents of the bag. They were lying, they were all lying, she knew she wasn't as pretty as them, she knew she wasn't as good as them. 

So why did she want to believe it so badly? 

Why did part of her trust them? Why did a part of her actually believe that she might be good enough for the group?

Marnie nodded "The most attractive thing is confidence. If you act like you don't care, you'll look good in anything" she blushed slightly "At least, that's what I think"

She looked down at the bundled fabric in the bag once more. Even if she didn't fully believe what they were saying, wasn't part of being friends making compromises? 

"Yeah, you're right." Janine wiped her face on her sleeve again. "One of the reasons I like this group is that you don't make me feel like I have to look perfect. You all make me so happy, every time we perform, or even when we just hang out" 

Janine took a breath in before plastering on a determined smile "and if wearing an outfit like this is how I show that I'm grateful for that, then so be it." She gently picked the bag from the ground "I'd wear a plastic bag on stage if it would show how much I appreciate you all"

"That's the spirit!" Iris hugged Janine tightly, knocking the bag from her hands. 

"I might not like it. But I'll do it if it makes everyone else happy" she smiled. "So, where should I get changed?"

\----------------------

"I didn't expect her to actually do it" Mallow whispered, excitement present in her voice "I thought it would go a lot worse than this"

"I thought the same, if I'm honest" Peonia sat on a nearby log, raking a hand through her curls. "She took it better than I expected"

"Mhm" Marnie agreed.

"She better not run off on us now" Leaf grinned at Mallow "if she does, you owe me 5,000 Poke-dollars" 

"I hope the measurements were alright..." Serena said, mostly to herself. A few leaves fell from the tree she was leaning on, gently drifting to the ground.

"Can she go any slower?" Iris whined "It's been ages"

"Patience." May scolded Iris, who pouted. "Don't rush her, she'll be ready when she's ready"

"Alright" Iris flopped back down onto the ground defeatedly. 

"Excuse me" Lillie began quietly "I don't think we have to wait much longer"

The faint rustling of the fallen leaves grabbed everyone's attention, they turned to face the source of the noise. Iris abruptly sprung up from the ground in anticipation.

"How do I look?" Janine asked quietly, emerging from the thicker area of trees. 

Janine's outfit was much the same as the others, but instead of the cape ending at her elbows, it flowed all the way to the ground. It gently fluttered in the forest breeze, along with the two ribbons in her hair. 

A thin choker rested on her neck, a small charm in the shape of an apricot sat in the centre. 

Leaf let out a snort, followed by laughter. This didn't help Janine's already low self confidence, as she shrank back even more, wrapping the cape around her protectively.

"No no" Leaf wheezed, ignoring the death glares that the rest of the group sent her way "It's just..." she stifled another laugh "You really do look like Lance"

Mallow slapped her gently to get her to quieten down. "Don't listen to her, you look amazing!" 

"Really?" Janine brought the cape even further around herself, completely encasing her body like a cloak. 

"Really." May stood up "I know you might not think it, and I know these thoughts won't go away just because we say so." She walked up the Janine and placed a hand on her shoulder "But all of us are so proud of you for taking that first step" 

"You're lying" Janine whispered.

"We're not" Serena added, also standing up. "I know this isn't at all easy, but all of us are with you, every step of the way" 

"Mhm!" Lillie said "I know you can do it, so you should believe in yourself"

Janine looked between the group, her breathing automatically quickened, but she tried her best to slow it down. 

"What if I never like myself?" She asked, her arms trembled from behind the cape that cloaked her body. "What if these thoughts never go away?" She'd had these thoughts for so long, it seemed impossible for her to ever like herself now.

"You're a tough cookie" Peonia grinned "I know you can get through this"

"Yeah, she's right!" Mallow smiled gently "You've already come this far, you can't give up now!"

"Things will get better eventually" Marnie added quietly "It might take longer than you thought. But I promise it will happen" 

"Yeah!" Iris tackle-hugged Janine from behind "If we all support you, you'll get better eventually"

Normally she never would have believed anything like that. She would have resigned herself to the fate of forever hating how she looked, but...

If her friends told her that she would get better, then she trusted that they were right.

"T-thank you" Janine choked back tears that threatened to fall. "I'll try my best" 

With a lot of hesitation, she managed to let go of the cape. It fell back, exposing her frail body that visibly shook with nerves. The chilly breeze that swept through the forest didn't help either, as the outfit left a lot of skin exposed.

Leaf rested a hand on her forearm, which caused Janine to flinch slightly. "I didn't think I'd be wearing short sleeves today"

Leaf rubbed the skin with her thumb gently. "It's alright, you'll be getting changed before you go home to Koga anyways"

Janine stayed silent for a minute, before a small smile appeared on her face "So how come I look like Lance?" 

Leaf bit her lip to contain a giggle, knowing that whatever she said next would be met with a lot of harsh glares and possibly getting slapped by May.

"It's the spiked hair, and the cape" Peonia commented, unaware that she probably shouldn't have answered that. "What? I'm just being honest."

"You are not helping" Marnie hissed, before turning back to Janine "You don't look like Lance, you look like... an angel" she sounded a little unsure of herself at the end.

"Are those two mutually exclusive?" Leaf jabbed "Because I've met a lot of fan girls that would disagree with that"

"Can you imagine Lance as an angel?" Janine burst into a fit of laughter as she pictured the scenario, which set off Leaf as well. "I bet he'd have hydreigon wings and a dratini as a halo"

No one could contain their amusement at that comment, even May smiled. "Alright, I'll admit that was funny"

"You know....." Lillie began, "Kind of off topic, but I think I have some different ideas for lyrics now." She turned to Janine with a warm smile "If you're willing to help me out? I think that you overcoming your fears has potential"

"You know," Janine genuinely smiled at Lillie "I think so too"

\-------------------------

Backstage was always the most nerve wracking place in the entire world. At least that was true for Janine. Arceus themselves could descend onto Kanto and she would still find backstage more terrifying by a long shot.

"You ready?" Peonia asked, a hand on her hip. The faint roar of the crowd was enough to cause the adrenaline to begin pounding through Janine's veins. 

"As I'll ever be" she grinned, brushing the cape behind her shoulders in a quick motion. "I still can't believe we scored a concert here"  
"Don't worry, you'll be fine" May reassured "And neither can I, This is the biggest concert hall in all of sinnoh."

"Fantina has been on this very stage" Marnie commented, her voice was monotone as usual, but the group knew she was happy "I'm a fan, it's quite an honour to even be here"

"I know, right?" Iris squealed. "It's so exciting! I think I'm going to explode" 

"You're always excited" Lillie commented with a smile "But yes, it's quite intimidating" she giggled nervously.

"Don't sweat it" Mallow grinned as she rested an arm on Lillie's shoulder. She initially flinched at the contact, but relaxed when she saw it was Mallow "We always do amazing, so why is this time any different?"

"Exactly" Serena nodded. "I'm glad to be back on the stage, so there's no point in worrying, is there?"

Janine shook her head. The thunderous applause of the audience began to quieten down.

"I think that's our cue" Marnie smiled "Is everyone ready?" 

There was a collective nod from the group. 

"Alright then" Janine extended a hand out "Until the very end..."

"We'll let the spotlight guide us" the girls chorused, extending their own hands out on top of Janine's. 

With that, the circle was broken, and the girls made their way on stage.

The feeling of the crowd cheering for them was a feeling that would never get old, even if they did it every day for the next hundred years. The rush of adrenaline as their names were screamed a thousand times over, all of it was exhilarating.

Janine also noticed an extra feeling she hadn't felt before, the feeling of being centre stage. The feeling of having most of the audiences eyes on her. It was a position she had never been in before, and she expected to hate it.

But she found herself loving it, in a strange way. 

It may be narcissistic, but she loved the feeling of having the audience captivated by her. She loved the feeling of knowing the cameras broadcasting the event would be focused on her.

Most of all, she secretly loved the fact that this was their most packed concert yet, and she was the centre of the first song in their most popular concert.

As the backing track for the song began playing from the loudspeakers, she took her place in the centre spotlight.

The song went off without a hitch, their capes billowed behind them as they moved around on the stage, Janine's especially. It gave her an almost majestic silhouette as it flew back. 

Sure enough, Serena was right about the outfits. They went with the lively beat of the song perfectly, and Janine tailored the choreography to that, combining to form a perfect harmony.

The group sang with everything they had, especially Janine, who realised in that moment that she'd rather wear 1,000 outfits like this than ever quit.

\-------------------------

"How was the gym today?" Koga asked, sitting opposite his daughter.

Janine put her phone down to face her dad, a genuine smile on her face for the first time in a while. "It was good, not too many challengers this time of year"

"Any hiccups?" He inquired, Janine shook her head.

"Nope. Everything went smoothly this time."

"That's good" Koga smiled, "You seem happier today, is there a reason for that?"

 _I snuck out all of last night to perform at the biggest concert hall in Sinnoh and ditched my gym leader duties to catch up on sleep_

"Nope, guess I'm just in a better mood today" she smirked at her father. "Also, I took my cereal back, and I hid it somewhere you won't find it"

_it's in the exact same spot as last time, but I doubt you'd think that_

Koga laughed "Very good, it seems I've been bested this time"

"You better believe it" Janine grinned.

\-------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Janine Murasakino Takahashi, the full name I gave Janine. Murasakino (紫の) means purple, and Takahashi is a common Japanese surname. 
> 
> I don't think I need to clarify who is who in the texting part, but just in case.
> 
> RoseMarnie - Marnie  
> DropDeadGorgeous - Peonia  
> Marshmallow - Mallow  
> WaterLily - Lillie  
> SereineGrace - Serena  
> LeafMeAlone - Leaf  
> MayIHaveYourAttention - May  
> TinyDragon - Iris  
> ToxicSpikes - Janine


	3. Maybe 3rd best isn't so bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Song: Mermaid Festa vol 1

"What are you watching?"

Leaf slung her jacket over the couch in the break room, looking up at the five that had gathered around the laptop and seemed to be bickering quietly.

"Ah, Greetings, Leaf." Will briefly looked up from the screen to wave at her before looking back down. "We're watching a concert from a certain idol group, you might have heard of them?"

Leaf felt every muscle in her body freeze at that statement, she tried to keep any of the panic from entering her face as she approached the screen, crossing her fingers it wasn't what she thought.

Nope, it was their concert all right.

The song appeared to be near the chorus, with the camera was focused on Janine. Her cape fluttered around her as she moved.

"Funny," Leaf tried to keep her usual sarcasm, but inside she was panicking. "I never took you for the Idol type, Lance"

"I made him watch it" Karen explained "I'm a fan of this group, and when I saw these outfits I had to show Lance. The self proclaimed master of capes"

"Because it's true" Lance grinned, eyes still fixed on the screen. "And if I'm honest, this group is growing on me"

Arceus. Arceus. Arceus.

She wasn't actually hearing this, was she?

Lance and the rest of the elite four were watching one of her concerts, but they had no idea? This sounded more like one of Leaf's nightmares. Surely they knew it was her on that stage. Surely they were just pretending not to know.

"I can hook you up with tickets to their next show if you want. They're even better in person!" Karen gushed.

_Karen actually came to their concert._

She felt her breathing begin to quicken as panic rose in her, but she pushed it down.

"That one in the middle almost looks like Janine..." Koga mused quietly. 

Leaf almost exploded into laughter, but she bit her lip in order to stop herself. At least that reassured her that they definitely didn't know. Although it was definitely kind of hilarious to hear the usually sharp as a tack Koga unknowingly watch his daughter on stage.

"Yeah, that's a strange coincidence, huh?" Leaf said, but struggled to contain her laughter. 

"So what's your verdict on the capes?" Karen jabbed Lance with her elbow. 

"I wore it better." Lance laughed.

"I disagree" Will objected "Your cape is.... interesting, to say the least" 

"Hey" Lance feigned offence "My cape looks fine."

"Whatever you say..." Koga's eyes were still glued to the screen.

Leaf still couldn't quite believe this was happening. The elite four were taking about their idol group? Really? Were they actually that popular?

"I must say, these costumes are magnificent..." Will commented, lips parted slightly as the song progressed "I shall have to ask the designer to design some outfits for my next act."

"I know right?" Karen fangirled. It was certainly a strange sight to see the normally calm and collected Karen turn to a hyperactive schoolgirl over a concert, but Leaf didn't really mind.

"I like the one with the black hair" Will pointed to Marnie, who briefly took centre stage to sing her line, before falling back into formation. "She wears pink, and seems to have good taste"

"Marie? I thought you'd be more of a June person...." Leaf commented quietly, without regarding the fact that the elite four could definitely hear her.

"You like Idol groups?" Karen asked, a strange sparkle in her eyes.

Leaf instantly felt all the eyes in the room snap to her, and she realised her mistake. 

"I watch them occasionally" Leaf blurted out the first thing that came to mind. She shouldn't be nervous. That would just draw more suspicion to herself, and she really didn't need that.

But it was also terrifying to think that If any of the elite four's brains decided to work at any point, and if they made the connection that the brown haired girl on the screen was the same brown haired girl standing beside them, she would have no defence.

"Funny, I didn't think you were the type" Lance smirked.

"Pot, Kettle, Black." Leaf snapped back, Lance chuckled a little.

"I don't really understand this..." Bruno had a look of pure confusion on his face, but pointed to Mallow nonetheless "But I like her, she's got spunk"

"That one's Kaliko" Karen clarified. "She's from Alola, and she's known for being really tough! There's rumours that she has a bounsweet, and that she plays the bass for the songs." 

"You're really into this, huh?" Will asked, Karen nodded.

"Of course, I always feel really happy when I watch groups like this perform. I've got to say that Kayda is my favourite though. She always seems so high energy" Karen pointed to Iris.

Oh Arceus, Karen is a fan. 

_The_ Elite four Karen is a fan of their idol group.

"I like the one with brown hair" Lance said, snapping Leaf out of her brief panic "She kind of looks like Leaf, doesn't she?"

...

Leaf resisted the urge to scream, faint, cry or have a meltdown. Or all at once.

"Wow, she really does" Leaf chuckled nervously, eying Lance to check his eyes for traces of suspicion. 

"Are you alright?" Will asked.

"Never better!" Leaf lied with a bit too much enthusiasm. She tried in vain to hide the fact that she was trembling. "Y'know, I think I'm going to start training earlier today"

She grabbed the jacket that was previously slung over the couch, throwing it on faster than lightning before sprinting out the door. She heard the elite four call after her, but she didn't stop running until she was at the training grounds.

She didn't hesitate to throw Venusaur's pokeball to the centre of the room, the grass-type Pokemon springing forward in a flash of light.

"Warm up" she ordered "We'll be doing stamina training today, so make sure you're ready"

Venusaur seemed to understand, as it dashed to the corner of the room. Leaf exhaled a breath she didn't realise she was holding.

Now she was alone, she had some time to think.

What would the elite four say if they found out? They probably wouldn't be too mad, right? Unless they thought she was using the group to slack off in her training. She kind of was, but that was besides the point.

At least she didn't have all the expectations on her as an idol. At least she wasn't constantly compared to Red as an idol. At least she wasn't disregarded or brushed off as the worst trainer from Pallet town.

That was something she liked. Lance couldn't interfere with her idol life. As a trainer, it was a different story. 

It sucked being reminded you weren't the best, and Lance never helped that fact. Leaf had heard enough speeches about how much potential Red has, and how he's an inspiration for us all, and he's also the best trainer from pallet town. Lance could claim Red was Arceus himself and Leaf wouldn't bat an eye.

At least Blue also received his fair amount of praise from Lance, especially after taking over the gym. He'd gush on and on about how he is what every gym leader should aspire to be, and how he's so perfect and beautiful.... 

But, intentionally or not, Leaf was never the subject of Lance's praise. 

Despite being one of the original three, apparently she wasn't worth remembering. She never remembered him talking about her the way he talked about Red and Blue, his praise was always very general, very artificial. It never felt like he truly watched her battle, or understood that she trained just as much as Red.

It was frustrating, but there wasn't anything she could do about it.

Just another harsh truth.

\------------------------

Lance's final Dragonite fell, Leaf's Glaceon celebrated with a loud howl. 

Unsurprisingly, the winner of their weekly battle was Leaf. Although that was nothing out of the ordinary. Every week for the past 3 years they had battled, and every week Lance had lost.

"That was a great battle" Lance grinned, cape fanning out around him as he came to congratulate her.

"Thank you." Leaf said, although it was mostly out of principal. She knew Lance didn't mean his words either. Why would he never talk about her and then only praise her after he lost? 

"You know. If you keep this up, you might even beat Red one day" Lance grinned and placed a hand on her shoulder. 

And there it is, being compared to Red. 

She isn't Red, and she will never be Red, but people will insist on comparing them, just to bring her down. Or in this case, comparing them is intended as a compliment, because it's like saying...

_Here's who you could have been. Don't worry, if you try really hard, you might almost be good enough one day_

_why couldn't you have been Red? You both started out in the same place yet he's miles better than you ever will be_

_If you're really lucky, you might almost be as good as Red one day. But we all know that will never happen, because Red is perfect, and you aren't_

Why couldn't she just be enough? 

"Leaf?" Lance shook you slightly, increasing the grip on your shoulder "Are you alright? You're spacing out again. 

"Ah, I'm alright" She flashed the fake smile that she had perfected for situations such as this. "Just a little tired after that intense battle"

"That's understandable" Lance patted her shoulder "You can go get some rest if you'd like, I can take care of the rest of the paperwork"

She shouldn't complain. Lance was letting her go home early, Lance was giving up his time to make sure she was well rested. Lance was going out of his way for Leaf, she should be grateful.

So why did she still have the urge to scream at the man. To tell him that she isn't Red, and she never will be. 

It wasn't like these thoughts were new, they'd been invading her mind ever since she started working at the elite four. She had always repressed them, with the justification that Lance didn't know he was being hurtful. 

But it's hard to repress thoughts like that every single day for 3 years. Eventually she started believing all her suspicions. That she wasn't good enough, that the only reason the elite four put up with her is out of pity.

Call it confirmation bias, but their actions never did anything to disprove her thoughts, in fact, they only made them worse.

At some point, Lance left the room, leaving Leaf to stand there alone. Alone with her thoughts....

No. There was no point in sulking. If she ever wanted to make a name for herself, she had to get stronger, she had to beat Red. She couldn't just sit around and do nothing. Even if there was always a clawing feeling that reminded her she will never be as good as Red.

As long as Red and Blue are trainers, Leaf will never be good enough.

Deciding to leave, Leaf turned towards the elevator. The daily idol meet wasn't until later that day, so there wasn't much she could do. She could always go over the vocal arrangements again, maybe that would take her mind off of things.

Something she liked about being an idol was that she was never second best. She never felt like she was outshined by anyone. That was a feeling she never got as a trainer.

"... and the trainers from pallet town are the best we've ever had" Leaf heard Lance's booming voice coming from the main room. She peered around the corner to see Lance talking to a younger man with blonde hair.

Deciding this was a conversation she wanted to hear, Leaf made no attempt to walk into the room, instead resuming her place by the wall, spying on Lance as he continued.

"We have Blue, who took over the Viridian gym at the age of 11," Lance grinned, and Leaf could see his cape blowing around him. _does that guy always have a personal gust of wind following him?_ "One of the most promising trainer's we've ever had. The only trainer who has ever gotten to Red's final Pokemon"

The man Lance was talking to nodded, seemingly captivated by this story. "And Red, well, I don't think I need to tell you how good he is. Undefeated, even though he doesn't talk." Leaf felt a dark feeling welling up in her chest as Lance praised Red.

She knew exactly what that feeling was, it was something she had become familiar with over the last 3 years. Yet she refused to acknowledge it, and pushed it down sharply.

"Both from Pallet town." Leaf resisted the urge to run up to Lance and slap him. She shouldn't feel like this... He's just praising two good trainers. "Pallet town has never seen trainers like them before. Almost all of the other trainers from that place are only able to get one badge at a push, but those two show that anything is possible"

Leaf felt anger begin to bubble. Anger and... 

He didn't even mention her. 

Talking about trainers from Pallet town, and apparently she wasn't worth mentioning. 

It wasn't like she was part of the original trio. But according to Lance, it was a duo. Apparently she wasn't even good enough to mention even when she's one of the only three trainers to ever beat Lance. 

"Thank you for the insight, Mr Wataru." The younger man said "I shall keep that in mind when I next visit pallet town"

"Any time" Lance beamed.

Leaf's fists curled into balls, she ground her teeth against each other to stop choked sobs from escaping. Hot tears pricked at her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to repress them.

She dashed out into the room, streaking past Lance in a blur of motion. She didn't listen to him as he called her name. She just kept running, out the front door, and out into the street.

\-------------------------

~❤️Idols❤️~

LeafMeAlone: Arceus  
LeafMeAlone: I've actually almost had it

MayIHaveYourAttention: What's going on?

TinyDragon: what's wrong? ):

LeafMeAlone: I'm actually about to explode at Lance  
LeafMeAlone: Can he actually treat me like a person for once? 

MayIHaveYourAttention: What's going on?  
MayIHaveYourAttention: What did he do to you?

LeafMeAlone: urg...  
LeafMeAlone: I know I'm overreacting here  
LeafMeAlone: He's not done anything bad  
LeafMeAlone: but he will not shut up about how good Red is.   
LeafMeAlone: Blue either for that matter.  
LeafMeAlone: when IM LITERALLY STANDING NEXT TO HIM

RoseMarnie: So he just ignores you?  
RoseMarnie: That's pretty mean

LeafMeAlone: All he talks about is Red and Blue  
LeafMeAlone: I've never heard him talk about me like that.   
LeafMeAlone: Today was especially bad though  
LeafMeAlone: I heard him talking to a guest about the kids from pallet town.  
LeafMeAlone: He goes on and on about Red, and then talks about blue.  
LeafMeAlone: and he DOESN'T EVEN MENTION ME.

ToxicSpikes: Are you joking?  
ToxicSpikes: You're one of the only three trainers that were able to beat Lance   
ToxicSpikes: And he forgets about you?

DropDeadGorgeous: Wow.   
DropDeadGorgeous: BRB, I'm off to dropkick someone

MayIHaveYourAttention: Arceus.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: Next time I see him at a champions meet, he's getting slapped.

RoseMarnie: I will get team yell to harass him if he ever shows his face in Galar.

SereineGrace: Count me in.  
SereineGrace: Don't you spend most of your time with the elite four anyways?

LeafMeAlone: Exactly!  
LeafMeAlone: I've spent almost every single day for the past 3 years training with the elite four  
LeafMeAlone: I've beat Lance every single time we battle  
LeafMeAlone: But no. I guess I'm not important enough to remember.

ToxicSpikes: Do you want me to talk to Koga about this?  
ToxicSpikes: He's part of the Elite four as well, I'm sure Lance would listen to him

LeafMeAlone: Do not.  
LeafMeAlone: Idk if the elite four are aware of this, but if they are then they won't do anything about it.  
LeafMeAlone: Also, I'm still pissed at Koga.

DropDeadGorgeous: ?

LeafMeAlone: Why the hell did he not do anything about the Janine situation?

ToxicSpikes: Ah....  
LeafMeAlone: I'm serious.  
LeafMeAlone: How do you not notice this?  
LeafMeAlone: we see Janine once a day  
LeafMeAlone: and we were able to figure out something was up faster than her own father. Who has seen her every single day since she was born?  
LeafMeAlone: that doesn't sit right with me

MayIHaveYourAttention: That is a good question   
MayIHaveYourAttention: Now I'm concerned

LeafMeAlone: Not only that, but he ENCOURAGES her to suppress her emotions  
LeafMeAlone: Are you joking?

DropDeadGorgeous: I'm adding Koga to my dropkick list

RoseMarnie: Koga has been added to my 'I will get team yell to beat them up' list

ToxicSpikes: No, please don't   
ToxicSpikes: This wasn't his fault

SereineGrace: I have to disagree here

ToxicSpikes: No, please listen  
ToxicSpikes: I never told him about any of this.  
ToxicSpikes: He never knew anything was wrong, so it isn't his fault for not intervening

MayIHaveYourAttention: That's not an excuse.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: you're his daughter.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: He talks to you for hours every single day  
MayIHaveYourAttention: How does he just 'not notice' that something isn't right

ToxicSpikes: because I never told him  
ToxicSpikes: The one thing I'm better than him at is lying  
ToxicSpikes: If he knew something was wrong, he would have done something   
ToxicSpikes: but he didn't, so it can't be his fault

RoseMarnie: Does he not check on you  
RoseMarnie: ask how you're doing?

ToxicSpikes: ...   
ToxicSpikes: Not really

MayIHaveYourAttention: Exactly.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: Leaf is justified in being angry

DropDeadGorgeous: Tbh, I'm with Janine on this one  
DropDeadGorgeous: People can't help if they don't know anything's wrong 

MayIHaveYourAttention: but that's not an excuse for neglecting your daughter  
MayIHaveYourAttention: and encouraging her to repress her feelings

DropDeadGorgeous: Idk, he's trying his best, isn't he?  
DropDeadGorgeous: Even we weren't able to help Janine until a week ago, and we've known her for 7 months  
DropDeadGorgeous: How come we didn't intervene sooner? 

RoseMarnie: Because we didn't know

DropDeadGorgeous: See?  
DropDeadGorgeous: I'm kind of on Koga's side here

ToxicSpikes: can we please drop this already?  
ToxicSpikes: I'm not comfortable talking about this right now 

TinyDragon: Me too, I don't like fighting 

RoseMarnie: I suppose 

LeafMeAlone: Alright, fine.  
LeafMeAlone: Back to Lance

DropDeadGorgeous: At least we can all unite in our hatred of Lance

Marshmallow: Hi, sorry, me and Lillie are just out of school  
Marshmallow: What happened?

MayIHaveYourAttention: Long story short, Lance talks up Blue and Red all the time to other people but basically treats Leaf like she doesn't exist  
MayIHaveYourAttention: Even though she's one of the only 3 trainers to beat the Kanto elite four, and she spends all her spare time training with them

LeafMeAlone: But I guess since I'm not the champion that doesn't matter  
LeafMeAlone: Or the champion's definitely-rival and not-boyfriend 

WaterLily: Oh no, that's awful

Marshmallow: Seriously?   
Marshmallow: Whatever respect I had for the Kanto elite four just left.

LeafMeAlone: I love how he acts so high and mighty, when he isn't even the real champion   
LeafMeAlone: the only reason he is allowed to keep that stupid title is because Red is still too young  
LeafMeAlone: the SECOND Red turns 18, Lance is getting kicked from his throne

Marshmallow: Damn I actually used to like the Kanto trainers  
Marshmallow: Not anymore

WaterLily: But haven't you beaten him in battles multiple times?  
WaterLily: How does he just forget that?

LeafMeAlone: ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

RoseMarnie: Tell the angel man to fuck off

LeafMeAlone: ANGEL MAN-  
LeafMeAlone: Thanks to Janine, I can never unsee that image 

ToxicSpikes: you're welcome 

TinyDragon: I'm the better dragon type master anyways (￣∀￣)  
TinyDragon: Tell the flying type master to challenge me and I will beat him into the ground <3

MayIHaveYourAttention: Flying type master?

TinyDragon: Look at his team  
TinyDragon: Dragonite = flying type  
TinyDragon: Gyarados = Flying type  
TinyDragon: Aerodactyl = Flying type  
TinyDragon: Charizard = Flying type

Marshmallow: I NEVER NOTICED THAT O-O

WaterLily: Hahaha, wow  
WaterLily: watch out Falkner, Lance is coming for your gym

LeafMeAlone: you have no idea how much I'd pay to see Falkner sweep Lance's team  
LeafMeAlone: I wanna see him get knocked down a few pegs 

DropDeadGorgeous: Lance the flying type master is my new favourite phrase.  
DropDeadGorgeous: Actually, Pryce could sweep his entire team.  
DropDeadGorgeous: Half his team instantly die if a single snowflake falls on them.  
DropDeadGorgeous: If he had an electric type to deal with Charizard and Aerodactyl he would be unstoppable

LeafMeAlone: I want to see champion Pryce  
LeafMeAlone: Maybe then I'd actually get some recognition 

SereineGrace: Seriously, you should not have to put up with him  
SereineGrace: Stupid cape man  
SereineGrace: Janine wore it better

ToxicSpikes: (≧∀≦)

LeafMeAlone: Oh yeah, on that subject  
LeafMeAlone: Lance has seen our concert

DropDeadGorgeous: HE WHAT?

TinyDragon: !!!!!!!!

ToxicSpikes: Please don't say Koga has seen it too....

LeafMeAlone: He has  
LeafMeAlone: The entire elite four we're watching it yesterday  
LeafMeAlone: Never took them for the idol group types but I guess I was wrong

ToxicSpikes: Kill me

LeafMeAlone: don't worry, Koga somehow didn't recognise you  
LeafMeAlone: He did say "She almost looks like my daughter"   
LeafMeAlone: Yeah, I had to stop myself from laughing

MayIHaveYourAttention: Wow.

SereineGrace: Father of the year.   
SereineGrace: doesn't even recognise his own daughter

DropDeadGorgeous: Hey, that's what my makeup skills can do   
DropDeadGorgeous: ( ✌︎'ω')✌︎

TinyDragon: Who's his favourite member? O~O

LeafMeAlone: Ironically, Janine.  
LeafMeAlone: and I'm Lance's favourite

TinyDragon: REALLY?   
TinyDragon: HAISHDIDJSKJDHDSJKSJSHDHDKDJ

SereineGrace: ?

TinyDragon: it's a key-smash

WaterLily: That really is a strange coincidence, huh? '(=´∀｀)  
Marshmallow: I'm sorry you have to deal with the cheater man  
Marshmallow: Both him and his under levelled dragonite can shove it

MayIHaveYourAttention: Language!

Marshmallow: You had no problem with Marnie telling Lance to fuck off but I can't say 'shove it'?

RoseMarnie: I'm the favourite child

Marshmallow: fair

WaterLily: genuinely though, how did he get a dragonite at that level?

SereineGrace: That is a fair point.

LeafMeAlone: Steroids

TinyDragon: WHAT?  
TinyDragon: Really?

LeafMeAlone: LOL, no but that would have been funny  
LeafMeAlone: I have no idea. The rest of the league don't know either.   
LeafMeAlone: they tease him about it and he brushes them off   
LeafMeAlone: but yeah, they were talking about us at the elite four today

SereineGrace: Did they like the outfits?

LeafMeAlone: Yeah, they loved them  
LeafMeAlone: Karen really liked them  
LeafMeAlone: Will said they were pretty

SereineGrace: Even Will liked them?  
SereineGrace: That's high praise

WaterLily: why would they not like them?   
WaterLily: you worked really hard on them

Marshmallow: Exactly!  
Marshmallow: they definitely got us more popular 

SereineGrace: Ah, thank you for the praise  
SereineGrace: I just didn't expect the group to explode like this.

DropDeadGorgeous: It exploded like a shiny Graveler   
DropDeadGorgeous: that happened to me once and I never got over it

TinyDragon: F

Marshmallow: F

MayIHaveYourAttention: I don't understand what 'F' means, but I'm very sorry about the Graveler 

RoseMarnie: F

WaterLily: I also didn't expect this   
WaterLily: it's kind of scary ( ；∀；)  
Marshmallow: What are you afraid of?  
Marshmallow: The crowd?

WaterLily: I'm more scared that Kukui will turn on the TV and accidentally come across our concerts   
WaterLily: If that ever happens I'm running away and never coming back

DropDeadGorgeous: Oh god what if my dad found out?

RoseMarnie: Or Piers? 

ToxicSpikes: ...

MayIHaveYourAttention: Let's not think about that, shall we?  
MayIHaveYourAttention: we should just enjoy the fact that we're getting famous.

LeafMeAlone: Oh yeah, Lance was thinking of getting tickets to our next concert  
LeafMeAlone: As much as I don't like him, it's publicly either way.

WaterLily: I mean... it would look very suspicious if we stepped in and stopped it

Marshmallow: if it happens, it happens  
Marshmallow: Just perform and pretend he isn't there

LeafMeAlone: Anyways, thanks for listening to me talk about my feelings for a while  
LeafMeAlone: I should get back to work.  
LeafMeAlone: I've got a new vocal warm up plan if you all want to try it?

MayIHaveYourAttention: Sure, send it when it's ready.

LeafMeAlone: Aight, TTYL

TinyDragon: Bye byeeee!

\-------------------------------------------

"Soooooooooo" Iris hung over the armrest of the couch, a huge grin on her face. "Who's our next centre?"

May looked over to Lillie. The crowd wanted a Lillie centre more than anything, but if she wasn't comfortable then they wouldn't force her.

Lillie shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm still not ready" 

"That's fine" Serena smiled "We'll wait until you are ready"

Mallow stroked the wooden body of her bass absentmindedly, humming a half-baked tune to herself "I have some ideas for a melody, but it needs some polishing before it's ready"

Marnie slung her guitar away from her body so she could reach her notepad. Each page was lined with a stave, a specially designed pad for writing music. "Alright, we could start with that."

"Still need a centre though" Peonia objected. "Everyone except Lillie has been centre once before now, so I guess we just pick randomly?" 

"Let's start writing lyrics, and then we can worry about that." May walked over to where Lillie was. "We can let Marnie and Mallow work on the melody, the rest of us can work on the Lyrics."

"Alright!" Mallow jumped up, grabbing her bass and walking over to sit with Marnie. 

"..."

Serena turned to Leaf, who was unusually quiet. "What's up with you?"

Leaf perked up at Serena directly addressing her, and tilted her head slightly. "Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind right now." 

"Lance?" She asked, Leaf nodded.

"I always feel like I'm inadequate... because I'm not the best, and I doubt I ever will be." She sighed as she leaned on her hand. "I'm not even second best, I'm third best, at a stretch."

"That's not true!" Serena protested, resting a hand on Leaf's shoulder gently. 

"It is..." she huffed, burying her face in her hands. "I always feel like I'm not good enough whenever I work with the elite four. But I don't feel like that when I'm with the group." 

"Could you elaborate?" 

"I dunno. It's weird." Leaf peeked out from between her fingers. "You all make me really happy, and I don't feel like I'm dragging you down, or that I need to be anything else other than myself"

"Awwwww" Iris gushed, which made Leaf jump. 

"When did you start eavesdropping?" She huffed, burying her face back in her hands.

"She's not the only one, to be fair" Peonia smirked. 

"Uurrhhh" She groaned, gently banging her head against the table. 

"It's not really a bad thing" Iris smiled widely. "I think we've just found our new centre!"

\-------------------------------------------

"..."

Leaf skipped another stone over the lake, grumbling with frustration.

"..." _what happened?_ it's alright. 

"It's just... it's always about you. Isn't it?" Leaf picked up another large rock, not even attempting to skim it, instead she threw it as hard as she could. It made an even bigger splash than the last one, but it didn't do anything to help Leaf's bitterness.

"..." _Lance talks about me?_

"Oh you don't know the half of it" Leaf spat "It's all I ever hear these days. Sometimes I think he's hung up the cape to start a cult that worships you" 

"..." _I wouldn't like that_

Leaf rolled her eyes "Good. Be glad you don't have to listen to his ramblings every day. They should just rename the elite four to the Red fan club at this point" Leaf sat down on a large pile of rocks, absentmindedly picking a smaller one up to fiddle with. "It's stupid. I know you're good and all, but they treat you like you're a god"

"..." _I'm not a god_

"Tell that to Lance" Leaf didn't make any attempt to hide the bitterness in her voice, she didn't want to. "This is so stupid. I hate being a trainer"

"..." _do you hate being a trainer, or do you just hate Lance?_

"Both" Leaf laughed, but there was no humour in it. "I know why I don't like it, but I don't want to admit it..." Leaf threw the pebble she was playing with into the lake, it landed with a miniature splash near the centre. 

"..." _..._

"I'm jealous..." Leaf sighed. She didn't want to admit it, she didn't want to confirm her own suspicions about herself. But there was no denying that it was the truth. "I'm jealous of you, and how everyone praises you all the time, and you always know what to do in battle."

"..." _you shouldn't be jealous_

"Why the hell not?" Leaf yelled, still refusing to face Red. "Just for once I'd like people to say that they're proud of me. Just for once I'd love for people to congratulate me on my victories. You and Blue always get that, but me...." 

Leaf raised a hand to her cheek, suddenly becoming very aware that she was crying. In front of Red of all people. 

"..." _I didn't ask for their support_

"I know you didn't" Leaf sighed, leaning back on the rocks so she could look at the wisps of cloud that streaked the sky "But it must be nice. You never lose, and people always tell you how amazing you are, how inspiring you are. Even when you don't ask for it, people think that you're the best."

Leaf continued. "And Blue. People look up to him as well. Even though he's lost, people always build him up when he loses. Even when he falls, people respect him because they know he's second from the top." Leaf let out a breath "I know you might not see it, but every time he doubts himself even a tiny bit, tsunamis of praise tell him that he's amazing. I...."

"..." _..._

"I wish I had that..." Leaf admitted quietly. "I wish that people told me I was good enough. I guess they just assume that I think it automatically" she paused for a moment as her hand went up to wipe her face "So that's why I'm jealous"

"..." _I'm sorry_

"Don't be. This isn't your fault" Leaf pulled herself up again, finally meeting Red's gaze. It was as blank as always, but Leaf knew he was concerned. "It just makes it hard to continue sometimes. I know I'll never beat you, and no one will ever remember me as anything more than 'that other girl that came from pallet town'" 

"..." _That's not true, you're way more than that_

"Doesn't feel like it" She grumbled "What would Lance even say if I quit?"

"..." _He'd ask why, and I don't know if you could answer that_

"You're right. " Leaf looked at the lake, completely defeated. "I can't tell him why I want to quit, but I could quit behind his back?"

"..." _You're at the elite four every single day. He'd notice immediately_

"Dammit." Leaf chuckled "Knew it wasn't that easy"

"..." _You could just talk to Lance? I don't think he's making you upset on purpose._

This time Leaf was the one that went silent. "..."

"..." _Why haven't you talked to Lance about this?_

"I..." Leaf picked up another stone, but didn't throw it into the lake "I really don't know." 

A short pause ensued.

"..." _So talk to him then?_

"It's not that easy" Leaf threw the stone into the Lake, it only landed a few meters off the shore "I can't just... what would I even say?" 

"..." _Tell him how you feel, just like how you told me_

"But you're my friend. It's different" Leaf huffed "I can't just tell Lance 'hey, I kind of hate myself and think I'm useless because everyone else has done so much and I want to quit. Anyways how was your day?' "

"..." _You could_

"Yeah right." She leaned her head back against the rocks again, looking towards the sky. "I'd rather just deal with it"

"..." _If you don't tell him I will_

Leaf snorted "Yeah right, because you have such a way with words." She looked back at him with a sarcastic grin. "Bet you 3,000 poke-dollars you won't do it"

Unbeknownst to Red, Leaf wasn't just being her usual snarky self with that comment. As much as she didn't want Lance to know about this... she couldn't deny that it would be nice to have some validation from him now and again. 

But it also wasn't that simple. She didn't want Lance to know, but she also did. She wanted anything else other than him finding out about her own struggles, but a part of her also craved the affection. Neither of these parts of herself would ever take action, so Leaf didn't actually mind the idea of it being up to Red.

She could never actually say any of that though, so passing it off to Red was the best course of action. 

"..." _Deal._

"Wait no, I didn't actually mean it" Leaf protested, but a part of her secretly wished that Red would just tell Lance. 

"..." _Too late. I wonder what I'll buy with the 3,000 poke dollars_

"A pokeball for that Pikachu?" She turned her head to see Red's harsh glare "Joke."

"..." _you should head back to the elite four now. They will get worried_

"Trust me, they won't." Leaf reassured "I've been sneaking out every day and they've never said anything about it.

"..." _sneaking out? Where?_

"That's classified information." Leaf winked "Don't worry, I haven't joined team rocket or anything"

"..." _you better not_

"You have my word." Leaf crossed her hand over her chest, around where her heart was. "Anyways, I'm not going back for a while. I still need to think things over"

"..." _alright_

"..." 

The two of them sat in silence for a long while, throwing rocks of various sizes into the vast lake.

\-------------------------------------------  
~❤️Idols❤️~

SereineGrace: The outfits are done!  
SereineGrace: You know what that means.

TinyDragon: Concert? 

SereineGrace: Yep!

TinyDragon: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

WaterLily: Yay! 

ToxicSpikes: Wohoo!

DropDeadGorgeous: Finally! It feels like ages since our last one.

MayIHaveYourAttention: it's been a week and a half.

DropDeadGorgeous: Still.  
DropDeadGorgeous: I'm glad that we're back on stage (:

Marshmallow: Yep!

RoseMarnie: I am also excited  
RoseMarnie: Piers just asked me why I'm so happy  
RoseMarnie: This is your fault for making me smile (・Д・)  
SereineGrace: ...sorry?

RoseMarnie: I never smile ):<

DropDeadGorgeous: Well, now you do

RoseMarnie: (:

LeafMeAlone: Oh thank Arceus  
LeafMeAlone: I have so much I need to get off my chest for a bit it isn't even funny at this point 

MayIHaveYourAttention: Need to talk?

LeafMeAlone: Not really.  
LeafMeAlone: I'd rather do it in person anyways

WaterLily: Oh ok!  
WaterLily: We are all here if you change your mind (:  
WaterLily: When is the concert anyways?

SereineGrace: Alright, please don't get mad.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: What did you do?

SereineGrace: it's tonight.

TinyDragon: 0: 

ToxicSpikes: That not a lot of notice

SereineGrace: My apologies, but I couldn't say anything earlier  
SereineGrace: Work. You know how it is

DropDeadGorgeous: Do they actually expect you to work stupid hours?

SereineGrace: You don't know the half of it.

RoseMarnie: But that isn't right  
RoseMarnie: You're a kid.

SereineGrace: Just something I have to deal with, I'm afraid (*´-`)

WaterLily: But that isn't fair  
WaterLily: Is there someone you could talk to?

SereineGrace: don't think so, unfortunately   
SereineGrace: But that's not important right now.  
SereineGrace: The concert is in Kanto  
SereineGrace: You know the huge concert hall that's near Victory Road?

ToxicSpikes: You didn't....  
ToxicSpikes: That place is only for the top performers   
ToxicSpikes: Did we actually...

SereineGrace: Yep

TinyDragon: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

DropDeadGorgeous: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Marshmallow: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

ToxicSpikes: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

RoseMarnie: you broke them.

WaterLily: Mallow seems to be.... broken  
WaterLily: We're in class, and I think she's trying to stay composed  
WaterLily: It's not working very well (´∀｀=)  
DropDeadGorgeous: Are you texting in class?  
DropDeadGorgeous: And I thought you were the well behaved one (:<

WaterLily: Hey!  
WaterLily: I couldn't miss out on a conversation like this

LeafMeAlone: Lillie is secretly a rebel

RoseMarnie: Welcome to the club

MayIHaveYourAttention: Well, she sneaks out every night to travel across the region to meet with friends.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: I'd say thats rebellious

LeafMeAlone: you should not be endorsing this  
LeafMeAlone: But yes, it is very exciting.  
LeafMeAlone: I'm on my way to the elite four building right now, I can see the concert hall from here (:

TinyDragon: Is it not 6AM in Kanto right now?

LeafMeAlone: Helping at the elite four means crazy working hours I'm afraid.

SereineGrace: ayyyy!

LeafMeAlone: Aaaahhh, I can't believe we're actually performing there!  
LeafMeAlone: And I'm the centre!

ToxicSpikes: I know!

WaterLily: oh, Kukui has noticed Mallow acting weird.  
WaterLily: He took her phone away. 

DropDeadGorgeous: Rip Mallow

LeafMeAlone: As much as I love this. I have to get to work.  
LeafMeAlone: I'll talk to you all later!  
\------------------------------------------

Leaf pocketed her phone, quickly slipping it out of sight. 

"Ah, Leaf!" A certain cape-wearing Redhead greeted her as she walked in. He looked full of energy, even though it was still very early in the morning. "I've been hoping to see you"

_well that's a first_

She realised why his mood was a lot lighter than usual when her eyes spotted a dark haired boy behind him, a Pikachu on his shoulder. 

"Ah, Hi Lance, Hello Red" Leaf waved at Red, who waved back. 

"..." _I've not talked to him yet. This is about something else_

Leaf nodded at Red, thankful that Lance didn't understand him like she did. Red had to resort to nodding or shaking his head whenever talking to Lance. 

"So, what's up?" She asked, trying to seem lighthearted despite the sleep that fogged her brain.

"Guess what?" Lance asked, a smug smile on his face that Leaf did not like the look of one bit. Whenever Lance had a 'good idea', he never really bothered to consider how Leaf felt about it, often just dragging her into things she wasn't very excited, or even willing, to participate in.

This was another of those times. 

"We've booked an exhibition match between you and Red for tonight!" He announced, clapping his hands together with a grin. Leaf couldn't even pretend to be excited, as the only thought she had was 'why?'

"What!? Why?" She spluttered, stepping back slightly. Lance's face turned from happy to concerned in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

"Well, I just thought it'd be nice. You two haven't battled each other publicly in almost a year, I'm sure the public would love to see how your style has changed" Lance smiled again, but the concern on Leaf's face kept him from becoming too excited.

"Did you not think to ask me first?" Leaf couldn't keep the hostility from her voice, which did not go unnoticed. Lance backed off with his hands raised, like how one would treat an injured Pokemon.

"Is something wrong? Most trainers would dream to battle Red in front of a crowd" Lance said, and Leaf's eye twitched with anger. 

There he was again. Comparing her to other trainers.

_I'm not any other trainer. I'm Leaf, and I don't want this. I don't want to be shoved in front of a crowd just so I can lose again._

She hated this. She hated him. She hated how he assumed she would love this opportunity, because why wouldn't she love an opportunity for the crowd to point and laugh as Red swept the floor with her entire team. There was a reason she had avoided a battle with Red for the past year. 

But no. She had to battle Red, because Lance said so.

She restrained herself as much as she could in her response. "It would have been nice if you asked me about this before springing it on me out of the blue." She grumbled through gritted teeth. 

"..." _Calm down. You're going to lose your temper_

Leaf glared at Red. _No shit_. 

"Well, I just thought you'd like the chance to battle in front of a crowd again" Lance explained, before looking at her a little concerned "Is something wrong?"

_Everything. Literally everything_

"Nope. I'm just fine." Leaf growled, before taking a deep breath to calm herself.

She let out a sigh, before looking up at Lance with as much of a smile as she could muster. "So when is this match?"

"I already told you, it's tonight" Lance patted her shoulder enthusiastically, and Leaf wanted nothing more than to shove him away into the nearest wall. "There's no time like the present, after all"

Tonight?

Oh no. Oh no.

Oh no oh no oh no.

Whatever composure Leaf had promptly evaporated. "Tonight? Like tonight, tonight?" She panicked, jumping back. Lance furrowed his brows at her, although he looked more concerned than angry.

"Yes? Are you sure you're alright?" He asked, approaching her once again. Leaf flinched before she could stop herself, and took a cautious step back. 

"I'm sorry, but I can't go." She explained, trying not to show how much she was panicking, but failing miserably. "You should have consulted me before this. I'm busy tonight"

"Surely it can wait?" Lance rested a hand on his hip "The tickets have already started to sell out, don't your trainer duties take priority here?"

_Just breathe. You can't get angry here. You can't lose your temper. Even if this bastard deserves it._

"..." _Leaf, stay calm._

Leaf took a shaky breath, balling her hands into fists before speaking through gritted teeth. "Why do you even want me to battle Red? And why so suddenly?"

This time, it was Lance's turn to look uncomfortable. "Ah, well I just thought that it would be nice to see your progress, would it not?" He smiled down at Leaf, who narrowed her eyes, thoroughly unconvinced.

Seeing she would get no answers from Lance, she turned to Red. _What's the actual Reason?_

"..." _Stick around after Lance thinks you've left. You'll find out_

Leaf blinked at him questioningly, before turning back to Lance. "I guess I could make some time in my schedule, but please let me know in advance next time. Alright?" She hissed, a grin spread across his face.

"Thank you so much! I promise you won't regret this" Lance ruffled her hair, which Leaf did not appreciate. 

Lance took the elevator towards the higher floors, and Leaf made eye contact with Red once again. _What the hell was that about?_

"..." _I'm not sure either, but if you follow him you can find out_

Leaf glanced towards the elevator for a split second, considering the offer. It was spying, and it wasn't right, but there had to be a reason. There had to be a reason for this sudden desire to make her fight Red, and she refused to buy the 'it would be nice' excuse.

She looked at the elevator once more, before deciding to follow him. 

Red stared at Leaf for a moment as she stood in the elevator, before sprinting in beside her at the last second.

The elevator journey seemed to by in a flash, not that Leaf really minded. The strange feeling that elevators always left in her stomach was something she could do without.

"...but I got her to agree in the end" Muffled voices came from the opposite end of the room, near the door to the meeting room. Leaf quickly shuffled over towards the door, pressing her back flat against the wall. Red assumed a similar position at the opposite end of the door.

She snuck a look into the room, back still firmly against the wall. She saw the elite four, all in chairs around the meeting table, with Lance standing up at the end. He seemed to have just finished recounting a story. 

"Is all this really necessary?" Koga asked "Do you think Red can handle a crowd like that after so long?" 

"I believe he can do it" Lance took a step back from the desk, assuming his usual arms-crossed-while-his-cape-blows-behind-him pose. "And yes, I believe this is necessary if he is to become champion"

"Is a battle really the best way to go about this?" Karen piped up. "There are thousands of ways to increase his popularity, why force him in front of a crowd if he might not be ready for it?"

Leaf's jaw hung down for a second, processing the information presented. Is that why they were doing this? They were just doing this because Red needed to become more popular? Was that all there was to it?

Even through Red's stoic expression, Leaf could see he wasn't happy about this information either.

"I believe so" Lance looked down at the table briefly "Having him overcome a difficult foe will increase the public perception of him. He also needs time to adjust to larger crowds again, especially after his stunt at mount Silver." 

Leaf looked at Red, who had his fists curled into balls. They shook with what Leaf presumed was anger. 

"I understand that." Koga began "However, I think you should have consulted this with them beforehand. It sounds like neither of them took it well" 

"Agreed" Bruno nodded "I think you're putting them through more than what they can handle." 

"I think Red will be fine." Lance looked around at the elite four, who all seemed a little uneasy "And a win like this will really lift his spirits"

"What about Leaf, though?" Will asked suddenly "She didn't seem to take it well either, are you sure it's a good idea to put her into a match like this?"

"Leaf will be fine." Lance grinned "She's lost plenty of times, she'll take it like a champ"

"Are you sure about that?" Koga asked "Have you ever actually checked to see if she is alright after she loses? Or do you just take her word for it?"

"What do you mean?" 

Koga narrowed his eyes slightly. "I've been watching her recently, and I'm not sure if she is okay. Could we perhaps have Blue battle Red instead?"

Lance sighed "I don't think that's something we can risk." 

"What do you mean by that?" Karen asked, drumming her fingers on the table.

"Red already doesn't have the best reputation right now. Blue was already close to defeating him last time they battled, and if we consider his hiatus up on mount silver, Blue could end up becoming the new champion." Lance placed a hand on the table. "That's another can of worms that I'm not willing to open"

"So are you saying they shouldn't battle because Blue might actually beat Red?" Bruno asked, his tone a tiny bit darker than it was a moment ago. 

"Yes." Lance smiled, blissfully unaware of the atmosphere in the room. "I don't think we will have that issue with Leaf. She can put up a good fight, sure, but winning against Red is another story"

Leaf felt as though she had just been stabbed in the gut. 

They only wanted her to fight Red because she would be a good way to increase his popularity. They didn't care about her. They didn't actually believe she could beat Red. They didn't believe in her.

"..." _I'm sorry about this_

"It's alright..." Leaf grumbled, wiping the tears that had spilled onto her cheeks with the sleeve of her jacket. "They're just telling the truth"

"..." _If you don't want to go through with the match, I understand. I don't want to go through with it either_

"I don't think I will..." Leaf muttered, the voices behind the door nothing more than indiscernible mumbles to her. The thumping in her head drowned them out like music at a concert. 

"..." _You can go home if you want_

Leaf shook her head "I think I'm going to stay here for a bit. I've got some people to message" 

"..." _alright. We can head home whenever you're ready_

"Thanks..."

Leaf wiped her face once again, before pulling out her phone. 

\-------------------------------------------

~❤️Idols❤️~

LeafMeAlone: Fuck my existence 

MayIHaveYourAttention: Language!

LeafMeAlone: Sorry  
LeafMeAlone: But I'm furious right now

Marshmallow: What happened?

LeafMeAlone: You know our concert tomorrow?  
LeafMeAlone: The one in Kanto?

WaterLily: yes?

LeafMeAlone: Lance decided to book an exhibition match  
LeafMeAlone: Since Red doesn't have 'the best popularity' right now, they decided having him win a battle would be a good way to raise that  
LeafMeAlone: And they didn't want him to battle against blue, because then Blue might actually win. Then we'd have an even bigger problem  
LeafMeAlone: So they decided to have him battle me instead

DropDeadGorgeous: Are you joking?

LeafMeAlone: And guess what?   
LeafMeAlone: It's at the exact same time as our Concert.

RoseMarnie: Oh no  
RoseMarnie: That's really not ideal

ToxicSpikes: Did they not ask you about this beforehand?

LeafMeAlone: Nope!  
LeafMeAlone: They just assumed I would agree to it  
LeafMeAlone: Apparently they think I'd love to battle Red  
LeafMeAlone: News flash! I don't.  
LeafMeAlone: The only reason they want me to battle him is because I'm the only person that can 1. Put up a good fight against Red to drag out the match. And 2. Have no chance of actually winning and dethroning Red.

SereineGrace: Did they say that to you?

LeafMeAlone: They didn't say it to me, but I heard Lance saying that to the elite four.  
LeafMeAlone: Currently listening to them talk about me from outside a meeting room.

DropDeadGorgeous: HE WHAT?  
DropDeadGorgeous: I'm so done with Lance.

ToxicSpikes: That's it.  
ToxicSpikes: I'm getting Koga to slap him

TinyDragon: That's not very nice ):<

TinyDragon changed their name to AngryDragon 

AngryDragon: Tell that wannabe dragon master to come to Unova  
AngryDragon: I will destroy him.

MayIHaveYourAttention: I'm so sorry you have to deal with that, Leaf  
MayIHaveYourAttention: You should not have to put up with him.

Marshmallow: Arceus I'm furious 

WaterLily: They shouldn't treat you like that ):  
WaterLily: Lance should at least act like he believes in you.

SereineGrace changed the group name from 'Idols❤️' to 'We are going to beat up Lance❤️'

RoseMarnie: I agree with the group name  
RoseMarnie: I'm very angry right now

LeafMeAlone: You and me both  
LeafMeAlone: I'm not going to that stupid match

MayIHaveYourAttention: Really?  
MayIHaveYourAttention: You're just going to abandon it?

DropDeadGorgeous: Good <3

LeafMeAlone: Literally the only point of the battle is for Red to beat me down so he can get more popular.  
LeafMeAlone: The only reason they want me there is so I can get demolished by Red  
LeafMeAlone: I'm sick of it.  
LeafMeAlone: I'm sick of never being good enough.  
LeafMeAlone: I'm not the best, I'm not even second best.  
LeafMeAlone: I'm third best.  
LeafMeAlone: I'm done. I'm so done with all of this.

WaterLily: If you don't want to do it, you shouldn't have to  
WaterLily: at least, that's what I think.

AngryDragon: Exactly.   
AngryDragon: We don't want you to be sad ):  
AngryDragon: So, you don't have to go 

MayIHaveYourAttention: what about the people that bought tickets?

LeafMeAlone: Fuck them.  
LeafMeAlone: Sorry about language, I'm too angry to care right now

RoseMarnie: I've said worse  
RoseMarnie: And yes, ditch the match  
RoseMarnie: You could even ditch your spot as a trainer entirely?

MayIHaveYourAttention: Woah, that's a bit extreme.

LeafMeAlone: I've never thought about that

Marshmallow: Completely quit being a trainer?  
Marshmallow: Really?

DropDeadGorgeous: I mean  
DropDeadGorgeous: If she's not happy with it, why continue?

WaterLily: But she's worked so hard to get here!  
WaterLily: She's one of the top trainers in the world

LeafMeAlone: Exactly.  
LeafMeAlone: I'm _ONE_ of the top trainers in the world  
LeafMeAlone: I'm still not good enough for Lance  
LeafMeAlone: and I never will be 

AngryDragon: You don't have to be though!

SereineGrace: If you like battling, you should never stop

LeafMeAlone: I don't even know if I like battling anymore  
LeafMeAlone: I'll never beat Red, or Blue  
LeafMeAlone: I'll never be good enough   
LeafMeAlone: So what's the point?

MayIHaveYourAttention: You are good enough.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: Do not ever think otherwise.

LeafMeAlone: Too late :p  
LeafMeAlone: At least when I'm on stage I don't feel that way  
LeafMeAlone: I'm not third best on stage. It doesn't feel like I'm competing with anyone.  
LeafMeAlone: I wish I could feel like that all the time

DropDeadGorgeous: You could?  
DropDeadGorgeous: Just tell Flying man that you're sick of this  
DropDeadGorgeous: What's he gonna do?

LeafMeAlone: Hyper beam my face  
LeafMeAlone: He did that to a team rocket grunt once

DropDeadGorgeous: He'd be pretty stupid to try that  
DropDeadGorgeous: You have me, Three top gym leaders, the Hoenn champion, One of Kalos' strongest trainers and two of the top students at the Alola trainer school who are all fully prepared to beat him up.

RoseMarnie: And team yell

DropDeadGorgeous: Exactly.  
DropDeadGorgeous: Ditch the match, and ditch being a trainer if you want

Marshmallow: Yeah, do whatever makes you happy (:

LeafMeAlone: Hehe, thanks  
LeafMeAlone: I hope all of you are ready for our concert tomorrow.  
LeafMeAlone: It's going to be a blast  
LeafMeAlone: I should probably head home. I'm getting sick of hearing them talk about me.

WaterLily: Alright, just please don't make any rash decisions?

LeafMeAlone: Can't promise anything.  
LeafMeAlone: See all of you tonight!

MayIHaveYourAttention: Alright, stay safe!

\------------------------------------------------

Leaf slipped the phone back into her pocket, and looked up at Red. He was playing with his pikachu, feeding the creature small bits of a berry as it sat on his shoulder. 

He noticed Leaf looking at him and met her eyes. "..." _Ready to go home now?_

Leaf shook her head, surprising both Red and herself. "Not yet, I still need a minute"

"..." _Fair enough_

Red continued feeding his pikachu the blue berry, and Leaf directed her focus back to what was happening in the room. 

She had no idea how long she had been texting for, but they still seemed to be on the subject of Red. Not surprising, since Lance could talk about him for hours on end without tiring.

"I'm saying that maybe we shouldn't go through with this" Leaf forced herself to focus on their voices. "It's not good for either of them" that sounded like Koga.

"Red seemed fine with it" Lance protested, hands on his hips. "So I think it's safe. If he was uncomfortable with it, I'd know, and I'd stop it right away"

Leaf resisted the urge to burst out laughing. He clearly didn't, as Red obviously wasn't comfortable with it.

"I can't help but notice that you're ignoring Leaf here" Will insisted "She's the one that you should be worried about."

"Leaf will be fine" Lance dismissed Will with a wave of his hand. "It's just one loss, I doubt she'll expect a different outcome than that anyways" 

"Ahem." Karen interrupted "Maybe you should intervene then? If you think she doesn't believe in herself, is that not a cause for concern?" 

Lance seemed to pause for a bit before he spoke again. "I think I would know if Leaf was acting differently, we see each other every day" 

"I'm not sure about that." Koga locked eyes with Lance "She has been acting differently lately, she's just not been outward about it."

"What do you mean?" Bruno asked.

"She sneaks out every day, and doesn't come back for hours. She tenses up whenever you mention Red, and she's a lot less enthusiastic about battling." Koga looked around "Please tell me I'm not the only one that noticed this?"

The silence from everyone else in the room only confirmed his suspicions.

"So, I believe we should cancel this match" he concluded. "Somehow I doubt she's in the right mental state to lose." 

"But she's taken losses before, and she was fine." Lance argued "When she loses to Red, it will only push her to get stronger."

Leaf felt herself begin to shake with anger once again. 'When' she loses, not even an 'if'. How hard was it to just pretend they believed in her?

"What if she wins?" Bruno asked "Wouldn't that damage Red's reputation even more?"

Lance looked at Bruno sideways "That won't happen. Red can play around Leaf's strategy. Not to mention how versatile Red's team is." 

Leaf bit her lip to stop herself from screaming. She just had to stay calm. She just had to breathe and...

"She doesn't stand a chance"

Leaf threw the door open, seething with adrenaline fuelled rage as she glared at the wide-eyed elite four. "So that's it then? Is it that hard to pretend you believe in me?" She growled.

"L-leaf!" Will stammered "How long have you been listening to us?"

"The whole time" Leaf spat. "And I'm glad I did, or I would have missed some very interesting conversations"

"Leaf..." Lance raised his hands, seeing how the girl's fists trembled beside her. "Listen to me, this is all a big misunderstan-"

"Save it." Leaf snapped, cutting off Lance's attempts to speak. "I'm done with all of this. I train every single day, I train for hours and hours with all of you. I'm the only girl to ever beat Lance, I'm one of the original three trainers from Pallet town. But none of that matters to you." She ranted "I'm not good enough for any of you. I'm never going to be as good as Red"

Leaf was basically screaming now, but she didn't care. She was sick of repressing everything, she was sick of being forced to grin and bear it. She wanted them to know exactly what she thought.

"I'm never going to be the best. I'm never even going to be second best" She yelled, becoming aware of the tears that were welling up. As long as they didn't fall, she would be okay. 

She looked up at Lance, who had a look somewhere between shock and concern, his hands still raised. "All you ever talk about is Red this, Red that, when I've worked with you for YEARS now!" She stepped forward, but kept her fists securely by her sides. "Just for once, I'd love you to tell me that I'm doing well, that I'm a good trainer, or literally anything. But I guess not"

A short pause followed, the silence was deafening.

"It's like I don't even exist...." She muttered. "It's like I don't even matter to any of you. I don't blame you though, I'm beginning to think that myself. I guess all I'm good for is losing to make Red feel better" 

"Leaf, I'm so sorry-" Lance began, but Leaf cut him off again.

"Don't." She raised a hand to silence him. She sighed, relieving some of the tension inside her. Her fists gently uncurled "You were just being honest. I can't blame you for that. I know I'll never be as good as Red, but it still hurts to be reminded" 

Lance wasn't sure if he should speak or not, Leaf seemed to be a lot less angry, more... defeated. It didn't sound like the happy, bubbly Leaf that he knew. It sounded so despondent, so hopeless.

Koga stood up from his chair, making his way over to Leaf gently. Leaf watched him with her eyes narrowed. "Leaf, I apologise for-"

Leaf wasn't in the mood to listen to Koga. "Don't even get me started on you" She growled, the anger that had left a moment ago was back in full force. "I have a LOT of things to say to you."

"I know, I was just as bad as everyone else. I ask that you-"

"Not that." She snapped, taking a step closer to Koga. Lance shifted away, sensing that this wasn't something he should be a part of. "Your daughter."

This time Koga was the one who looked confused, and slightly defensive. "Janine? What about her?"

"Are you serious?" Leaf's expression was almost crazed, a strange smile on her face that looked anything but happy. "You don't even have a clue about what's going on?"

"What's happening with Janine?" Koga asked, worry present in his features.

"Oh, nothing" Leaf replied sarcastically. "It's not like she's also been sneaking out every day, and coincidentally at the exact same times that I do. I wonder why that is?"

"What do you mean?" Koga sounded more angry with that response, which only fuelled Leaf's anger.

"Do you even know how she's feeling?" Leaf asked, taking another step towards Koga "Did you even know how much she hates herself?"

"She what?" Koga stepped back, all the anger draining from his face in an instant. 

"Do you even know the extent of this? Do you have any idea how much she hates how she looks? Have you even paid the slightest bit of attention to her?" Leaf took another step, seeming to loom over Koga, despite being a lot shorter and a lot younger. "How come she came to a group of 13 year olds over her own father?"

"Leaf! What's happening with Janine?" Koga asked sternly, which prompted Leaf to laugh.

"You never noticed how she's uncomfortable when she wears outfits that even show the slightest amount of skin?" Leaf pressed "Did you also not notice that she wears foundation on her arms whenever she wears short sleeves? Or was that another thing you were too busy to notice?"

The room went silent. 

Koga took a second to process what Leaf meant, and when he did, he couldn't formulate a response. He stood there with slightly parted lips, as the only sound that filled the room was Leaf's heavy breathing. 

"Is it really that hard for adults to check on how kids are doing every now and then?" Leaf asked, "because I'm willing to bet that Me and Janine aren't the only ones having a hard time."

No one in the room knew the proper way to respond to that. The silence was enough. 

Leaf breathed a sigh, before looking between everyone in the room. "Anyways, fuck your stupid exhibition match. I'm not going, and Red, who has been listening to this whole conversation with me, is probably not going either." 

A tear fell before she could stop it. It rolled down her cheek like a raindrop, falling from her chin once it had reached the end of her face.

She wasn't supposed to cry. She was meant to be tough, she wasn't supposed to be so weak. Yet she couldn't stop the tears flowing once they had started, choked sobs escaping her.

"Leaf..." she looked up to see Lance, who had his arms opened hesitantly, as if asking if it was okay. She turned her head away, quickly wiping her face with a sleeve. As much as she wanted a hug from Lance more than anything, her pride wouldn't let her admit that.

She looked towards the door, knowing that she would make her escape that way. Although... there was one more thing she wanted to say.

_This is stupid, this is self-destructive and stupid_

"Oh, and Lance" Leaf looked up at Lance, a smug smile on her face that's effect was somewhat dampened by the tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"Janine wore the cape better."

And with that, she darted out the door, past Red, who was still waiting outside the door, and down the stairs, past any staff that tried to stop her, and straight out the front door. 

She threw Crobat's pokeball onto the ground, and quickly climbed onto his back. 

\------------------------------------------------

~We are going to beat up Lance❤️~

LeafMeAlone: Guess who just screamed and broke down in front of the elite four   
LeafMeAlone: If you guessed me, you'd be correct!

MayIHaveYourAttention: What did you do?

LeafMeAlone: Long story. I'll explain backstage.  
LeafMeAlone: I guess we don't have to beat up Lance now!

SereineGrace: I... Do I even want to know?

LeafMeAlone: Just started crying like a baby in front of the entire elite four + Lance  
LeafMeAlone: Also called out Koga for being a dick

ToxicSpikes: ...  
ToxicSpikes: Well, that settles it. I'm not going home tonight.  
ToxicSpikes: Can I crash at someone's house after the show?

MayIHaveYourAttention: My door is always open.

DropDeadGorgeous: I'm very curious about the full story, but I shall wait until when we meet in person.

LeafMeAlone: Oh also, I stormed out of the elite four   
LeafMeAlone: I need somewhere to chill for like 12 hours until we perform

ToxicSpikes: I think Koga might be coming home to check on me, so I have to crash somewhere too

MayIHaveYourAttention: If both of you can make the journey to Hoenn, you are welcome to stay at my place for tonight.

LeafMeAlone: Alright, thank you so much   
LeafMeAlone: You're a lifesaver

MayIHaveYourAttention: What are friends for?

LeafMeAlone: I'll be there in about an hour or two  
\-----------------------------------------------

"So that's what happened" Leaf sighed "I know the last part was unnecessary, but it was too perfect not to say"

"Sounds like you." Peonia said dryly, pulling Leaf's hair up into a bun. "If there was anyone in the world that would yell at the elite four, and then make a snarky comment as they left, it would be you"

The noise of the crowd leaked into the changing room. It was still early, so there were a lot of empty seats, but even with only a fraction of the stadium filled, there were still hundreds of people waiting out there. It just proved to Leaf how big this stadium was. 

"I'll take that as a compliment" Leaf began to fiddle with a strand of hair that had fallen from  
The bun, but Peonia slapped her hand away. 

"I don't think that was... the best approach" May sighed, looking back at Leaf. "Maybe you could have been a bit less.... shouty?"

"Eh. It's done now." She drummed her fingers on the desk in front of her. "I don't regret anything"

"Well, you spoke your mind." Marnie hesitantly said "I guess that's a positive side to it all" 

"Exactly." Leaf looked back at Marnie, causing Peonia to whine as she pulled the bun out of place. 

"Can you sit still for 2 minutes?" She grumbled, "Now I have to start all over again" she pulled the doughnut from Leaf's hair with a groan.

"Well. I think they deserved it" Iris looked up at Leaf from across the room. "They were being mean, and you shouldn't have to deal with that" Iris pouted slightly, looking even younger than she was.

"I have to agree" Serena mused, stroking a brush through her own hair despite how pristine it already looked. "If they put you through hell, they shouldn't be surprised when you inevitably snap"

"You're one to talk" Leaf raised an eyebrow. 

Serena shrugged "I've gotten better at repressing my anger, I highly doubt I'm going to break any time soon" 

"Built up pressure will always burst eventually" May glared at Serena with an eyebrow raised. "It's only a matter of time, so you should deal with it while you can"

"Let's not make this about me" Serena set the hairbrush down. "I can deal with my own problems for now, I think we should focus on Leaf"

"..." Janine was silent, gently brushing highlighter onto her cheeks.

Lillie and Mallow both took notice of this, and decided to approach her. 

"Umm, are you okay?" Lillie asked timidly, Janine sat the brush down with a sigh. 

"Not really." She looked at Lillie from the mirror. "After what Leaf said to Koga, how can I be?"

Mallow pulled up a seat so she could sit beside her. "Hey, that's a good thing" she rested a hand on top of Janine's. "He knows that you're not doing well, so that means he can help"

"But that's just the thing!" She groaned quietly. "I've no idea how he'll take it. I've never been able to ask him for help before, and I just...."

"You think he'll think you're weak?" Mallow asked, Janine nodded silently.

The noise of the crowd only got louder for each passing second of silence. It didn't do much to soothe Janine's nerves, but it was something. A small reminder that whatever worries she had would fade away as soon as she took a single step onto the stage.

"He won't think that" Lillie reassured, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

"It'll be so awkward though...." Janine whimpered, resting her head on the table. "I've no idea what to even say, and I'm terrified to imagine it" 

"Hey, look at me" Mallow snuck a hand under Janine's chin, gently lifting it up so she would make eye contact with her. "Everything will be fine. We are here for you every step of the way"

Janine couldn't maintain eye contact, and sighed. "Thank you, but I think this is something I have to do alone"

Lillie rested her hand on Janine's forearm, gently stroking the makeup-covered skin. It was true that this was between Janine and Koga, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't help her get through it.

"He's going to blame himself..." Janine whispered. "It's not his fault, he couldn't have done anything." 

"And that's okay" Mallow reassured. "But now that he knows about it, he can help you" 

Janine nodded, biting her lower lip to stop her tears from spilling down her cheeks. Lillie continued to gently rub her arm, the cheering of the audience outside only getting louder.

"Dammit." She sighed "I'm going to mess up my mascara"

"Try to focus on the positive parts" Lillie met Janine's eyes from the mirror "Now you don't have to explain why you're sneaking out, and you can be a lot more open with Koga."

"Is that a good thing?" Janine asked. 

"I think it is" Mallow grinned. "Try not to worry too much, and if you want us to be there with you, we can do that"

"No." She raked a hand through her spiked hair. "I dug my grave, now I have to lie in it. Isn't that how the saying goes?"

"Not necessarily..." Lillie shifted positions, giving her easy access to Janine. She wrapped her arms around her, careful not to crease either of their outfits. "All of us here have already dug our graves, so the least we can do is help you into yours"

"That's very poetic" Mallow commented, also leaning in for a hug. "Very Lillie" 

"I never thought of it that way" Janine wondered for a moment. "Thanks. I feel a lot better."

"No problem" Lillie smiled, still refusing to let go of Janine. 

"Think you're ready for this performance then?" Mallow squeezed her gently. Janine nodded.

"Ready as I'll ever be" she grinned.

\-----------------------------------------------

_around one hour later_   
Leaf peeked through the curtains gingerly, seeing how many people filled the rows of seats. The crowd roared at the brief glimpse of her, before she quickly disappeared behind the curtain. 

"I think they're waiting for us" Peonia grinned. Looking at the girls huddled around in a circle. "Leaf? Are you ready?"

"Hell yes!" She beamed "I've been ready for the last week" 

"Alright, alright" May chided, but she was also smiling. "I guess we should give them a show to remember, huh?"

"You better believe it!" Leaf extended her hand towards the centre of the circle. "Until the very end."

"We'll let the spotlight guide us!" They chorused.

\--------------------------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very aware this is out of character, but I had fun writing it at least. 
> 
> I didn't do a description of the concert this time, but I had mermaid festa vol 1 on my mind when writing this chapter, no idea why.
> 
> This entire chapter was spawned when I imagined what a Leaf-centre outfit would look like. This is what I came up with.  
> [](https://ibb.co/7SSDJxT)
> 
> Any questions/comments/suggestions, don't be shy!


	4. Confrontations are a bittersweet thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Song: Natsu, Owaranai de

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very minor trigger warning for self harm scars. Nothing graphic or particularly triggering, but I felt it was worth mentioning

Even though heading home was often one of the most bittersweet feelings, the cool breeze at night was always something that Leaf appreciated. Although neither of the Kanto girls could fully relax, as the feeling of impending doom loomed over them.

The knowledge that they'd have to return eventually, that they couldn't run forever. That was a terrifying thought. And although their reasons were different, they were both united in their feelings of apprehension towards their respective homes.

Janine and Leaf made eye contact for a brief moment, wondering if they regretted their actions. Truthfully, they did not. Being on stage was the best thing that ever happened to either of them, and they would gladly face the consequences of that.

"I guess we should go somewhere then?" Leaf broke the silence, the chilly wind seeming a lot colder than it actually was. Although they had both just been in a concert hall crammed with thousands of people, so almost anything would seem cold by comparison.

"Where?" Janine asked, the question sounding almost hopeless. "Where could we even go?" 

"I'm.... not sure" Leaf admitted, pulling the scarf up over her face. "But there's always somewhere, right?"

"I suppose so" Janine sighed. "A hotel sounds really nice right now" 

"I heard there's a nice one in Alola" Leaf half-joked "If you're up for the trip, that is?"

"Lillie and Mallow already took off." Janine sighed "But I suppose there's nothing stopping us from going on our own Pokemon" 

Leaf wasn't sure how to proceed, a hand hovered over the pokeballs on her belt. "You know, we don't necessarily have to go back if we do leave?" A sad smirk appeared on her face. "It's not like people would miss us"

"What do you mean? What about my gym?" Janine asked, sounding a little offended at the suggestion. 

"They could always pass it back to Koga, and I know they wouldn't miss me if I decided to leave." Leaf tried to laugh, but all that came out was a sigh. "I found that out today, so I'm thinking of just throwing in the towel completely" 

"I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't do the same if I was in your shoes" Janine looked down at her forearm, shame coursing through her as she looked at the fabric covering it. "I just don't know how to go back" 

"Well, you weren't the one that stormed out of the elite four headquarters while crying, so you already have an advantage" Leaf elbowed her in the ribs playfully, but neither of them found it very humorous. 

"About that hotel in Alola..." Janine began. "Maybe not run away, but it would certainly be nice to have a break" 

Leaf didn't hesitate to throw out the pokeball containing Crobat. "Think your Venomoth can make the journey?" Janine nodded. 

"I'm fairly sure she can." She nodded. "She's never failed me before." She reached down onto her own belt, picking the pokeball that contained Venomoth. 

"Alright. Is there anything you need before we set off? Potions? The bathroom? Food?" Leaf asked. The last thing she wanted to do was leave either of them in an uncomfortable situation. 

"Can we stop at a poke centre before we go anywhere?" She asked shyly. "I'm kind of starving after the show, and I should also stock up on supplies" 

Leaf grinned. "Sure. Any particular town you have in mind?" 

"Blackthorn is closest, isn't it?" Janine thought for a moment. "Although, there's a chance we might run into Lance there. Is that something you're willing to risk?" 

Leaf laughed off the question, already climbing onto her partner Pokemon. "Didn't Koga teach you about 'hiding in plain sight'?" Leaf winked at Janine. "I'll race you to the Pokemon centre. Winner gets bragging rights"

Janine spluttered and fumbled with her pokeball as Leaf sharply took off into the night sky. She cursed her for using such sly tactics, before throwing out her own Pokemon in order to give chase.

\--------------------------------------------

"Should we leave?" Will asked gently, Koga shook his head.

"No, it's alright if you stay." Koga nodded, Lance walked over to the door, which Leaf had flung open on her way out. Sure enough, he came face-to-face with a certain boy with a Pikachu on his shoulder. 

"You heard this conversation too, huh?" Lance asked, and much to his dismay, Red nodded. "Did you know about this?"

Red tilted his open palm back and forth to say "sort of". Lance nodded. "Did she come to you about this first?" Red nodded again.

"Ah..." was all Lance could say to that. "Do you think she'll want to talk to me right now?" Red shook his head. Figures, Lance probably wouldn't want to talk to himself either if he was in her shoes. 

"Do you want to talk to me right now?" Lance was left unsurprised when Red shook his head again. "I understand."

He briefly glanced back into the room, where the other elite four members were still sitting. "You can go home if you want, or you can stay with the rest of the elite four. I suppose we have an exhibition match to cancel."  
Red nodded, and gestured towards the room. Lance stepped back from the doorframe to let Red enter.

He walked over to where Koga sat before he got up and took a seat. Not that Koga really cared, he was still partially processing the information that had been dumped on him.

"You alright?" Lance hesitantly rested a hand on the older man's shoulder. "Do you need some time alone?" 

Koga shook his head. "I'll be alright." 

Lance nodded, before taking a seat himself. "I suppose we should get to work then?" He let out a sigh, pulling his laptop from its usual spot under the desk. "I'll make the announcement that the match is cancelled, we'll probably get some backlash for this, but I will take responsibility. This was my idea after all" 

Karen brought out her own laptop, and Will's seemed to materialise in front of him. Bruno didn't have his own laptop, so he looked around, somewhat unsure of what to do.

"Karen and will, can you get to work on organising the refunds? Bruno, can you go downstairs and let the staff know about this?" Lance began typing something on his laptop, Karen and Will also opening their own.

Bruno quickly left the room, leaving a deafening silence in his wake. 

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Alright, I've started on the refund process. People won't be happy though" Karen broke the silence temporarily. 

"Thank you" Lance replied, but didn't say anything else. The silence in the room settled once again.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Koga stood facing the window, arms crossed. He seemed to be deep in thought, as his expression didn't change at all. 

"..."

"..."

"..."

"So...." Karen laughed awkwardly. "I guess I can't go to that concert after all" 

Everyone in the room looked at her questioningly, "The idol group I showed you. They had a concert tonight. I got tickets and everything, but I guess I'll be spending this evening refunding people instead." 

"Ah, yes." Lance attempted to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I apologise, this entire mess is my own fault. How about I buy you tickets for their next concert to make up for it?"  
"Yeah, I think I'd like that." Karen smiled. "I'm forcing you to come with me though." 

"Fine with me" Lance's smile reached his eyes a little more that time. "We should invite Leaf along as well, if she's still on speaking terms with us, that is" Lance's smile dropped a little as he finished talking.

"She probably went to the concert anyways." Karen tapped away at her laptop. "Although, maybe that's why she cancelled the match in the first place, because she wanted to go see her concert instead of battling." she joked. "I wouldn't blame her."

Will cleared his throat. "I feel like there's a Copperajah in the room that we're not addressing" he rubbed the bridge of his nose through his domino mask. 

For the first time, Koga spoke up."Yes. I know I should have been there to support Janine, not just as her mentor but as her-"

"No. Not that" Will sighed "The other thing. What Leaf said as she left?" Will was met with a plethora of blank stares. "Are you not surprised?"

"Surprised about?" Lance asked, Will's jaw dropped slightly.

"Have none of you made the connection yet? Seriously?" He groaned and opened a new tab on his laptop. "And I though you were supposed to be the smart ones" 

"What?" Lance asked. Will spun the laptop around to show them the screen. 

"Remember what Leaf said as she left, about how Janine wore the cape better?" He pointed to the screen, which showed footage of the previous concert. "Pease tell me you can connect the dots here"

Koga looked at the screen with a blank stare. The cogs in his brain turning like Klinglang. 

_Why did she come to a group of 13 year olds over her own father?_

_Janine wore the cape better_

_It's not like she's also been sneaking out every day, and coincidentally at the exact same times that I do. I wonder why that is?_

The girl on the screen danced as the cape waved around her, the purple hair scarily similar to his daughter's. 

"Is that..?" He couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen, watching as the girl sang and smiled as though she hadn't a care in the world. 

"Janine? I'm assuming so" Will nodded. "It would explain a lot" 

Koga felt like he had just been slapped. 

First the scars, and now this? How many secrets was his daughter keeping from him? 

"That can't be her... she would have told me about this" He protested, still unable to look away. A mixture of emotions bubbled inside him, a lot of them unrecognisable. Although betrayal and anger were the most prominent ones.

"After what we learned today, I think she's been keeping a lot more than you thought" Will mused "And I think Leaf has as well" 

As if on cue, the camera focused on the brown haired girl. It was at that point that Lance went silent as well. 

"..."

"This can't be... can it?" Lance asked, more to himself than anyone else. 

Karen began to squeak like a tea kettle. 

"So... I've known a member of this group for years and I've had no idea?" She squeed with excitement. "This is amazing!"

"Not the time" Will looked at her disapprovingly. "Although it does explain why she was so against the exhibition match for tonight." 

Karen couldn't stop the grin from forming on her face, while Koga and Lance were unable to look away from the screen, completely gobsmacked. 

"I... think I need a minute" Koga whispered, before walking out the meeting room swiftly. Lance followed him, leaving a fangirling Karen with Will and Red.

Red didn't seem very phased, as he just shrugged at this revelation before going back to staring blankly. 

Outside the meeting room, Lance and Koga had a lot to think about. 

\--------------------------------------------

Leaf slurped her ramen, some of the warm broth splashing onto Janine. She apologised quickly. 

"Sorry, this is just too good" Leaf smiled, before immediately digging her chopsticks back into the bowl, taking another large bite of noodles. 

"It's alright." Janine smiled at her friends antics, but reached across the table to grab a handful of napkins nonetheless. "Pokemon centre food is always the best." 

"You better believe it!" She said through a mouthful of noodles. Janine decided to look away, somewhat out of respect, and somewhat because she didn't want to see her friend shatter whatever remaining dignity she had. 

"Just try not to spray your food everywhere" she chided "People are looking at us weird".

Leaf mumbled an apology as she wiped around her mouth. "Well, we'll be out of the region in the next 30 minutes or so, so does it really matter?" 

"Manners are always important" Janine wiped some of the spilled broth from the table. "But yes, I suppose that is true." 

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask." Leaf sat the wooden chopsticks down momentarily. "Are we going by Leaf and Janine? Or are we Apricot and Hana?"

"Does it really matter?" Janine threw the dirty napkins into the bin by the counter. "I think Koga and Lance have made the connection already. They'll come after us no matter what name we use" 

"You think they made the connection? I'm not sure if they did" Leaf murmured. 

"They might not have at first, but it's been hours now. They must have clicked by now" Janine sighed. 

"I'll stick with Leaf then." Leaf smiled "Hana is nice and all, but I don't want to be attacked by fans when I'm on break" 

"Janine it is then." Janine sat down her own chopsticks, before taking out her purse. Leaf stopped her.

"I'll pay. I got us into this mess after all" she took out her own purse, but Janine shook her head. 

"No, I'll pay. This was just as much my fault as it is yours" she struggled to take the money from her purse, which Leaf took it as a challenge. 

"Nope. I'm paying" She grabbed a handful of notes, slamming them down on the counter before Janine could stop her.

"I insist!" Janine placed her own small stack of notes next to the ones that Leaf had placed down. 

"I double insist" 

"I triple insist!" 

The two of them bickered like toddlers for a while, before they decided to split the bill down the middle. Leaf kept a close eye on how much money was in Janine's pile, checking to make sure she didn't sneakily pay for more. 

"Fair?" Janine asked, Leaf shrugged.

"I suppose." She pushed the empty bowl away from her slightly. "Anyways, you want to get going? They might try come after us if we don't."

"Don't remind me" Janine huffed "I really don't want to think about facing my dad right now, and I don't think you want to think about Lance either" 

"You've got me on that one" Leaf conceded. "Let's head then."

The two thanked the girl at the counter, before walking out of the centre, their full stomachs a nice feeling after such a stress filled night. They were still somewhat tired, and this wasn't exactly helped by the post-meal fatigue they both felt.

"What's the quickest way there?" Janine asked, pulling up her Pokédex. "I think it's over the Carvanha sea, but I'm not sure." 

"Yeah, Carvanha Sea is correct." Leaf double checked on her own Pokédex before readying her Crobat. "You ready?" 

This wasn't something either of them expected to be doing, but the again, they didn't expect to become part of a global sensation idol group. Life is just weird sometimes.

"I think I'll take Crobat this time." She switched the Pokeball in her hand from Venomoth to Crobat. "She can take longer distances better than Venomoth, and I need to give her more experience anyways"

Leaf nodded, throwing out her own Pokemon. Janine followed. The two Crobats materialised in a flash. 

"Think you can make the journey to Alola?" Janine asked her own Pokemon, who seemed to nod in understanding. "Alright. If you can get us there quickly, I'll get May to make you those Pokeblocks you really like." 

She trilled in appreciation, which Janine smiled at. 

A sudden streak of black across the sky drew their attention. 

"What was that?" Leaf asked, suddenly on guard. Janine assumed a similar posture as she looked up at the night sky.

The sky was dark, and speckled with stars, but both of them could clearly discern the shape of something flying. It looked to be quite large, larger than a person definitely. 

"Please don't tell me..." Leaf groaned, a sneaking suspicion over what the the silhouette actually was. 

Janine focused back on the sky, seeing the distinct silhouette of a Dragonite steadily approaching the ground. She couldn't contain the small smirk that formed on her face. 

"Good luck" she whispered. Leaf groaned again. 

"If I got on my Crobat now, could I outrun him?" She asked, Janine shook her head. 

"Don't." Janine whispered, watching as the Dragonite, and the man on its back, landed on the ground in front of them. "This isn't something you should run from" 

"You're one to talk." Leaf muttered under her breath, assuming an aloof stance. 

"Why are you here?" She asked, voice raised. Lance didn't seem to sure of how to approach either. He crossed his arms, but his face seemed a lot more uncertain. 

"I think we should talk" he sighed. "I'm sorry" 

Leaf's heart began to race in her chest. Lance was apologising? _The_ Lance was apologising? This had to be another trick. Another ploy to get her to look weak. This couldn't be true.

"For?" She pressed, not relaxing her stance against the man in the slightest. 

"Everything." Lance met her eyes. "I'm sorry that I never acknowledged all the work you put in. You've done so much. You've done just as much as Red, or Blue, but I let you think that you weren't good enough. I'm so sorry." 

"I have some apologies to make as well." A new voice said, causing Janine to jump out of her skin. 

Koga emerged from the shadows, looking remorseful. Janine instinctively backed off, straightening her posture. 

"Father!" Janine exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" She brushed the scarf behind her shoulders, struggling to make eye contact with Koga.

The two newcomers completely evaporated what was left of the calm mood. The air quickly became thick with tension, only aided by the two girls' stances. They were defensive, as though the two men were attackers, or opponents in a battle.

The four looked between each other. Leaf stood close to Janine, although she didn't know if it was to protect her, or for her to protect Leaf. Koga stood near Lance, facing his daughter with a somewhat stern look.

"I also have an apology to make" Koga admitted. "I'm sorry Janine..."

There was a moment of silence, the tension in the air was thicker than cement. Janine silently trembled.

"No...." Janine whispered. "Please no..."

"Janine..."

"No!" She suddenly yelled, turning to face her father with nothing but anger on her face. "I don't want you to apologise! This isn't your fault!" She felt drops begin to run down her cheeks, but she continued nonetheless. "This is why I didn't tell you, because I knew you'd blame yourself. But there wasn't anything you could have done."

Koga took a cautious step towards his daughter, but retreated when she flinched. 

"I have to go through this alone." Janine shut her eyes to stop any more tears spilling. "When you left the gym in my hands, I felt more alone than ever. Things just kept getting worse, and I knew you'd be disappointed in me if I admitted any of that, or you'd blame yourself." 

She gritted her teeth. "That night you didn't come home, because of your business with the league..." a short pause. "I can't even begin to describe how horrible that night was. I've never felt so hopeless in my entire life. I just wanted a way to make everything go away"

She paused for a moment before sighing. "Once I started, I couldn't stop. The last thing I wanted was to make you feel like you failed as a father, or that I had failed as your daughter. So I couldn't talk to you about this." 

She opened her eyes again when Leaf grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers to secure their grip. Leaf met her eyes to give her a reassuring glance, as if telling her that everything would be okay.

Even if Janine didn't believe her, she would trust that she was right.

She met Koga's eyes again. "I know you might not approve of me being an idol, but just know that it makes me really happy to be on stage, to not have to worry about what people think. Because when I'm on stage, I'm just having fun." 

"So I guess what I'm saying is. I'm sorry." She finished, looking down at the floor so she wouldn't have to look at Koga. His stony stare was enough to deter her.

"..."

"Janine?" 

Janine didn't lift her gaze from the ground, knowing that if she did it would just cause her to start crying even more. 

"Can you look at me?"

She shook her head, her entire body trembling. She wanted to melt into the ground, to seep through the cracks in the cobble streets like a Muk. She couldn't look at him, she couldn't do anything.

Leaf squeezed her hand gently, prompting her to meet her eyes. 

"It's going to be okay." Leaf whispered. "You told him, and that means he can help." She stroked her forearm through the fabric gently. 

"He's going to be mad at me..." she mumbled, increasing her grip on Leaf's hand. 

"I'm not" A deeper voice said. "Can you look at me?" Koga repeated. 

Janine bit her lip, before reluctantly looking up to face Koga. There was no trace of anger in his eyes, his features looking older in the darkened lighting. Janine felt herself freeze when he took a step towards her, but she didnt make any attempt to back away.

"I never intended to make you feel guilty" he took another step towards her gingerly, noting that she didn't flinch or act defensive. "I wish you had just come to me in the beginning, because I have never once thought that you failed as my daughter, and I will never, ever think that about you"

Another cautious step towards her. "Know that it's alright to be vulnerable, and that I would never intentionally make you feel bad about that." 

"You always told me that I had to control my emotions" Janine wiped at her face. "When I failed, I knew I couldn't tell you, because I'd just prove that I'm no good as a ninja, or as a trainer" 

"I cannot deny that I said that, but I know now that emotions cannot always be suppressed." He sighed. "I know you told me not to apologise, but I can't help but feel as though this is partially my fault for encouraging you to remain stoic. I apologise sincerely for that"

He took a final step, so that he was less than a meter away from his daughter. "But please remember, I will never judge you for doubting yourself, and I would much rather have you come to me than bottle up those thoughts." 

He slowly rested a hand on her shoulder, taking note of how she flinched from the initial contact, but made no effort to brush his hand off or wriggle away. "You will always be my daughter, and I want to know how I can help" 

Janine slowly nodded, a few tears leaking from her eyes as she saw Koga's sad smile. She didn't make any effort to resist when he slid his hand from her shoulder down her arm, stopping when he reached her forearm.

"Would you mind if I had a look?" He asked gently. Janine nodded, tilting her arm and extending it to give a better view. Koga gently pushed the fabric from her arm, rolling it up so it bunched up by her elbows.

He tutted slightly at what he saw, "You shouldn't cover newer wounds with makeup. They will get infected" Janine tensed up at his tone, which caused Koga to place his other hand back on her shoulder reassuringly. "It's alright, I'm not mad" 

After he was finished inspecting the wounds, he gently covered her arm back up with her sleeve. "We have a first aid kit in the cupboard, Everything will be fine" 

Janine nodded, but Koga could feel that she was still shaking, most likely from nerves. Not wanting to overstep his boundaries, he cautiously asked. 

"Would you mind a hug?" 

Janine didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around her father's torso, holding him close as though he would vanish into the night should she ever let go. She didn't care about any remains of dignity as she cried into the fabric of his outfit. 

Koga was taken aback by the sudden surge of affection, but gladly accepted it, stroking his daughter's spiked hair gently. 

Neither of them seemed willing to let go, so neither of them did. Koga let Janine hug him like how she did when she had a bad dream as a young child. But she wasn't a young child anymore, she was a young woman that rarely did this anymore, so Koga was more than happy to savour this moment.

Leaf watched the scene unfold with folded arms, a small smile on her face nonetheless.

A light tapping on her shoulder made her jolt back into a defensive position. When did Lance get so close to her? 

"Don't think I forgot about you" Lance joked "I think I've been doing enough of that recently." 

_No shit_

Leaf turned back to him wordlessly, the harsh glare spoke well enough. 

"I apologise. I really do." He smiled sadly at her. "I should've thought about how you felt about all of this, and I never should have compared you to Red. You're not Red, You're Leaf. I'm sorry for making you think that you had to be like him." 

"It's alright." Leaf said bluntly. She looked at the taller man with narrowed eyes. "Is that all?" 

"I-..." He looked at the girl, who was still glaring harshly. "Do you accept my apology?"

"Yes." Leaf said, bitterness laced her words as she turned away. "You can go now." 

Lance looked at Leaf, who had her back turned to him now. This... wasn't how he expected the apology to go over. She said that she accepted his apology, right? So then why was she still acting so defensive?

Lance knew that he couldn't just leave now, despite what Leaf insisted. If he left now, then he would be solely to blame for the silent treatment and harsh glares that the elite four received. He would be solely responsible for Leaf distancing herself from them as much as humanly possible.

Something told Lance that she didn't really accept his apology, and that she just wanted him to leave more than anything.

"I think I'll stay" Lance smiled, although Leaf couldn't see it. "I still want to talk to you some  
more"

"About what?" She snapped, turning her head slightly so that she could give him the side-eye. "Talk about Red some more? Compare me to him some more? Or how about you berate me in front of the elite four some more, I'd really like that." 

"Leaf, I just told you that I apologise for the whole 'comparing you to Red' situation" Lance said cautiously, not wanting to anger Leaf any more than she already was. "And it wasn't right for me to say all that to the elite four either. I should have believed in your abilities more"

"I don't want an apology for that." Leaf turned her head around again so that she could no longer see Lance. "You made an observation, and you told that to the elite four. You did nothing wrong"

"No, you _deserve_ an apology for that." Lance said firmly. "I shouldn't have said all those things. What sort of mentor doesn't believe in his students?" 

"Mentor? Is that what you're calling it?" Leaf laughed sarcastically. "But I don't blame you for not believing in me. No one has ever beaten Red before, so there was no reason to believe I could either." 

"But you should always believe you can win. You have no reason to believe otherwise." Lance took a step to the side so that he was perpendicular to Leaf. 

"Well maybe I do?" She hissed. "All you ever talk about is how good Red is, how good Blue is, how good everyone is. Maybe it would have been nice to hear someone talk about me like that for once. Maybe it would be nice to have people tell me that I'm a good trainer. Maybe it would be nice if people said nice things about me instead of just calling me 'that other girl that knows Red'." 

The words spilled out before she could stop them, and as soon as she finished her rant, she clamped her hands over her mouth. She turned away from Lance again. "You didn't hear any of that."

"Is that really what people say about you?" Lance asked gently. 

"What part of 'you didn't hear any of that' did you not understand?" Leaf huffed. 

"I'll take that as a yes" Lance turned so he was perpendicular to Leaf once again. "You shouldn't listen to those people. They don't know anything about you"

"I can deal with a few people like that" Leaf scoffed "But it's not just a few people. It seems like everyone admires Red, they admire Blue, they even admire you. They shower you in praise and compliments all the time. It just feels like..."

"Like you're not good enough?" Lance asked.

Leaf nodded, before her face went beet red. "Wait. No. Stop getting me to admit things, dammit" 

Lance chuckled lightly, much to Leaf's displeasure. "It's alright to be open about your feelings, you know?"

Leaf groaned. "Whatever, don't you have a match to cancel?" 

"Well, I kind of handed that work over to the elite staff." Lance folded his arms. "The fans weren't too happy, but I can deal with them" 

"Hah. You could announce you're the leader of team rocket and your fans would still support you. All you ever get is people telling how great a trainer you are" Leaf laughed, before whispering something under her breath. "I'd love to have fans like that..."

"Jealous?" Lance asked, a single eyebrow raised.

"N-no!" Leaf stammered, obviously lying. "Hey! When did you get so good at mind games?"

"Champions charisma" He smiled. "And it's alright to feel jealous. It's a perfectly natural emotion to have"

"Whatever..." Leaf brushed him off again, which Lance was beginning to get sick of. "You can leave now."

Lance ignored Leaf's suggestion, and stood directly in front of her, meeting her eyes. "Do you honestly believe that you're not good enough as a trainer?"

"Well, yeah, sometimes...." she sheepishly admitted, before immediately going back to her snappy self "What's it to you?"

"Because you are one of the greatest, most talented young women I've ever met, and don't you ever forget that." Lance smiled warmly at her "I believe in you." 

"Yeah right...." Leaf looked towards the ground, fists curled into balls. "You're just saying that"

"I'm not." Lance reassured. "I'm sorry for letting you believe that you're not good enough for as long as you have. You are, and always will be." 

"W-well thanks." Leaf stammered, face still tinged a vibrant red. "But you didn't have to come all this way just to say that." She folded her arms again, looking at Lance with an expression that was trying too hard to be angry.

"I should've said it a long time ago" Lance smiled warmly. "So, yes, I did. You deserve to know that, it's the least I can do after all this time" 

He saw that Leaf still had her arms crossed, but her glare was faltering. Leaf tried to fix it back into place before Lance realised. Unfortunately, the small trembles that wracked her body did not go unnoticed.

"Well, that was very sweet of you" Leaf tried to keep the anger in her voice to prevent it from shaking. "You can go now."

"You really like using that phrase, don't you?" Lance commented, a single eyebrow raised. "Do you actually want me to leave, or are you just saying that?" 

Leaf seemed taken aback by Lance's comment, but quickly put her aloof mask back on. Unfortunately, her voice wasn't on her side, and trembled as she spoke. "W-what's that supposed to mean? I d-don't care what you do. Leave if y-you want" 

"You're not as good at lying as you think you are" Lance said, voice dripping with a smugness that Leaf did not like at all. Lance was reading her like a damn book, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Whatever." 

"If you want me to go, then I'll go" This time, Lance was the one that turned away. "Come on, Dragonite" The orange dragon lumbered over, turning his back so that Lance could climb on.

As much as Leaf didn't want to talk to Lance.... who was she kidding? This was what she wanted. She wanted him to say that she was worth something, she wanted to hug him tightly and pour out everything.

Even though her pride would never let her admit any of that, seeing him prepare to leave sparked something in her.

"Wait!" She said without thinking. Lance turned back with the smuggest smile she had ever seen. It infuriated her, it infuriated her to no end, but also...

She didn't say anything else. Her arms were still folded, and her mouth was still scowling, but when Lance looked into her eyes they pleaded for him not to go. The icy glare wasn't working in the slightest, as all he could see was the frightened young girl that didn't want to be alone.

"Thanks...." Leaf said, looking down at the ground again. "No one's ever told me anything like that before"

Something about that tugged at Lance's heartstrings, something about how the usually snarky and confident Leaf now sounded like a frightened little girl, because that's exactly what she was. She was still young, she was still a child, even if she refused to admit it. 

"Hey, there's no need to thank me" Lance said softly. "I was just saying everything I should have said a long time ago" 

He looked down at Leaf, who was shaking, crossed arms that began to wrap around herself, as though attempting to hug herself. She looked so fragile... it was such an unusual sight. Fragile was normally the last word he would use to describe Leaf.

He opened his arms hesitantly, much like how he did back at the headquarters. Leaf eyed him up and down, as though it might be a trick. 

"Its okay if you want a hug, you know?" Lance's tone was gentle, non threatening, the last thing he wanted to do was scare Leaf while she was in this state. "I won't judge you" 

"It's alright..." Leaf still refused to look at Lance.

"..."

"..."

"C'mere" he said gently. 

Leaf hesitated for a second, before taking a single cautious step towards Lance. He bent down slightly so that he was at eye-level with the girl. 

When Leaf met Lance's soft eyes, she couldn't keep up what was left of her composure. She rushed forwards into his open arms, the force of the impact knocking him back slightly.

Lance wrapped his arms around her tightly, straightening up so that he lifted her off the ground. Leaf buried her face into his shoulder, not wanting him to see that she was crying, but the damp patch forming near his shoulders probably gave her away.

She breathed in as Lance rubbed her back gently, the scent of his cologne pricked at her nose, but she didn't mind too much. _of course Lance wears cologne, that's such a typical Lance thing._

She didn't feel the urge to let go either, especially since Lance was holding her off the ground. She grumbled a few words, that were muffled by the fabric of Lance's shirt. 

"What was that?" Lance asked. Leaf briefly removed her head from the fabric of his shirt. 

"Janine still wore the cape better." Leaf smirked, before promptly burying her face back into the thick fabric. 

"Hey!" Lance feigned offence. "Do you want me to drop you?" He felt Leaf shake her head gently. 

Leaf liked the feeling of being held, she could put her pride aside for a moment to admit that. It felt nice to be held, to be rocked gently as though she was a toddler. The warm embrace that felt like a warm blanket. 

It made her sleepy... very sleepy.

She didn't intend to fall asleep, but the warmth of Lance combined with all of her energy being sapped from today's shenanigans made sleep an irresistible prospect.

Lance heard the stifled sobs begin to slow, and were replaced by steady breathing. He also felt how her grip on him loosened, until it was feather-light.

"...I think Janine fell asleep" Koga said quietly. Lance looked over, to see Koga and Janine still in an embrace, but Janine seemed unresponsive. Koga used the strength in his arms to prevent his daughter from slipping. 

"Leaf did too" Lance smiled, the girl in his arms completely limp. "I guess they're tired from everything that happened today" 

"Should we wake them?" Koga asked gently, Lance shook his head.

"Let's just get them someplace safe, I think they need the rest" Lance met Koga's eyes, which had some dark bags underneath them. "And we do as well, come on, let's go" 

Manoeuvring onto a flying Pokémon with a sleeping girl clinging to them was certainly a challenge, but not one that either of them minded much.

\------------------------------------------

"Mmph" Leaf sighed, rolling over. The pillow beneath her shifted slightly.

 _Wait? Pillow?_  
She used her torso as leverage to support her upper body as she sat up. She felt a fluffy white duvet shift as she looked around the room, her sleep-fogged head refusing to make any connections.

The clock on the wall said it was 4:30AM, around the time Leaf usually woke up. Yet for some reason, she felt more like she was waking up from a nap than waking up from a nights sleep. 

The pieces of the puzzle began to twist as she looked at the room around her. The walls were a light shade of cream, with no notable decorations or posters. A window with floral decorated curtains took up most of the wall. The only other thing of note was the small chest of drawers and closet that sat in one of the corners.

No sunlight poured in through the windows, which was unsurprising, considering it was summer, and 4:30 in the morning.

She tried to recall where she was the previous night, her memories a blur of colours and sounds. Eventually she was able to remember she had a concert... and then she ran off with Janine... and then.

"Oh shit." She said aloud. "I didn't..."

The memories of the confrontation surfaced, the hug between herself and Lance, and.... falling asleep in his arms.

She cringed at the memory, having to rub her temples to comfort herself. _Did I really just break down crying in my boss/mentors arms and then fall asleep? Yes I did._

After piecing together what she could from the scattered and fragmented memories of the previous night, she realised that this room was definitely not her own. This was Lance's guest room.

_Oh my Arceus. I'm never going to live this down_

She frantically pulled out her phone, and began to text the one person that would understand. 

~Teenage mutant ninja turtle 💜~

LeafStorm: I just woke up in Lance's guest room and I have never felt so mortified.  
LeafStorm: Arceus is laughing at me right now.

Leaf honestly didn't expect Janine to be up at this hour, but she was surprised when a message pinged back almost immediately. 

TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: I'm in the same boat  
TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: I woke up in my dad's bed, with at least 6 different blankets on top of me.

LeafStorm: Oh my.  
LeafStorm: Do you remember what happened last night?

TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: Unfortunately, yes  
TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: But I wish I didn't.  
TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: anyway, why are you awake right now?

LeafStorm: I have to be at the elite four by 6AM every day. I guess I'm just used to it?  
LeafStorm: And yes, I remember as well. Even though I wish I didn't.

Leaf would have given anything to erase the events that transpired last night. She wouldn't complain if that day was just permanently wiped from the calendar. 

TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: I've never cringed so hard in my entire life.  
TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: I'm so glad that Koga isn't awake right now.  
TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: That hotel in Alola doesn't sound so bad. Maybe if we disappeared there we could just forget about all this.

LeafStorm: As much as I'd love to, no.  
LeafStorm: Damn, it's tempting though.

TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: IKR?

LeafStorm: I've no idea what to do.  
LeafStorm: I want to curl up into a ball and die.

TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: Same, but continue.

LeafStorm: I've no idea what Lance is going to say.  
LeafStorm: I hate talking about feelings.

TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: I noticed

LeafStorm: Like this is majorly embarrassing.  
LeafStorm: I'm meant to be so calm and collected.  
LeafStorm: But here I am, in Lance's house.

TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: At least I woke up at home.  
TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: Is there a window you can jump out of?

LeafStorm: Yes, but I think I've ran from my problems enough already.  
LeafStorm: It's just..... hhnnnnnggggggggg

TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: I get it.  
TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: I'm not looking forward to facing my father either  
TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: But it's something we have to do

LeafStorm: Yeah, you're right.  
LeafStorm: Oh yeah, we should probably tell the rest of the chat what's happened, huh?

TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle: Oh yeah. We should.

~We are going to beat up Lance❤️~ 

LeafMeAlone: Can we call off the 'beating up Lance' mission?

DropDeadGorgeous: First off, why are you awake?  
DropDeadGorgeous: Second off, this sounds like Tea.

ToxicSpikes: It is.

AngryDragon: >:D Spill

LeafMeAlone: To make a really long story short.  
LeafMeAlone: After the show, me and Janine were gonna fly to Alola to take a break from the chaos. Unfortunately the chaos followed us, because Koga and Lance showed up when we stopped in the poke-centre in Blackthorn.  
LeafMeAlone: Janine broke down crying, and Koga finally acted like a decent father. They hugged and they both apologised.

ToxicSpikes: That's... scarily accurate.

LeafMeAlone: I know, I was there.  
ToxicSpikes: then Lance tried to apologise to Leaf but she was having none of it  
ToxicSpikes: They kind of argued for a bit, and eventually Lance realised what was wrong.  
ToxicSpikes: Lance apologised, they hugged, and I think Leaf cried.

LeafMeAlone: No I didn't. 

ToxicSpikes: You did.  
ToxicSpikes: but anyways.  
ToxicSpikes: We kinda.... fell asleep while hugging them.

LeafMeAlone: And then I woke up in Lance's guest room.

DropDeadGorgeous: I-

AngryDragon: AGAHSJSJSJSGSHSJ

SereineGrace: Oh my.

Marshmallow: ^ 

WaterLily: That is quite... interesting.

LeafMeAlone: It's fucking mortifying, that's what it is.

RoseMarnie: Be thankful that May isn't online or she would berate you for language.

Marshmallow: I'm glad you two were able to work out your problems though!  
Marshmallow: it sounds like you finally talked about your feelings.

LeafMeAlone: excuse me while I go vomit.

WaterLily: There's nothing wrong with letting people know how you feel.  
WaterLily: Now things can get better!

SereineGrace: and I can stop getting angry whenever I see Lance on the news.

DropDeadGorgeous: And I can cancel the hitman I hired. 

RoseMarnie changed the group name from 'We are going to beat up Lance❤️' to 'Hooray for talking about our feelings ❤️' 

Marshmallow: That's what we call healthy coping mechanisms 

ToxicSpikes: Haha, wow  
ToxicSpikes: Thanks for being supportive.

WaterLily: What are friends for?

AngryDragon: You could've said 'water friends for' ): 

WaterLily: Oh, I apologise.

AngryDragon changed their name to EasilyExcitableDragon

EasilyExcitableDragon: Just thought it fits better (:

DropDeadGorgeous: It does.

LeafMeAlone: Umm  
LeafMeAlone: what do I DO?  
LeafMeAlone: IM IN MY BOSS' GUEST ROOM AFTER FALLING ASLEEP IN HIS ARMS LAST NIGHT.

SereineGrace: Alright, cool it.  
SereineGrace: It might be embarrassing, but it's not the end of the world.

LeafMeAlone: It is. 

Marshmallow: Awww, don't say that

SereineGrace: Exactly.  
SereineGrace: You're tough. You're very tough.  
SereineGrace: You're the toughest person here.  
SereineGrace: If you can handle mewtwo and the world nearly ending, you can handle this.

WaterLily: Forgive me if this is rude, but isn't the hard part over?  
WaterLily: You already made up with Lance, right?

LeafMeAlone: yeah, but I was tired  
LeafMeAlone: and now that I'm thinking straight I regret so much of what I said.

ToxicSpikes: same here...

EasilyExcitableDragon: You talked about your feelings, so they can't make you sad anymore.  
EasilyExcitableDragon: You should be happy.

LeafMeAlone: It's bloody demeaning.  
LeafMeAlone: I work for the elite four, I don't cry in front of people.  
LeafMeAlone: Least of all my boss.

SereineGrace: Well, you should be happy you did  
SereineGrace: It might seem embarrassing now, but this is a million times better than bottling up your emotions.

LeafMeAlone: Oh look, the pot is calling the kettle black again.

SereineGrace: I don't bottle up my emotions.

DropDeadGorgeous: Press X to doubt.

EasilyExcitableDragon: X

RoseMarnie: X

WaterLily: X

ToxicSpikes: X

Marshmallow: X 

SereineGrace: Whatever, this isn't about me  
SereineGrace: It's good that you talked about your emotions. That's what I'm trying to say.

ToxicSpikes: Yes, but I don't want Koga to wrap me in bubble wrap.  
ToxicSpikes: I woke up in his bed with a bunch of blankets.  
ToxicSpikes: He even put a bunch of my stuffed teddiursa on the bed.  
ToxicSpikes. how he found them, I'll never know. I hide all my stuff from him really well.

DropDeadGorgeous: He's a ninja.

ToxicSpikes: Yeah, but you get what I mean, right?

RoseMarnie: There's this thing called 'communication'. I don't know if you've heard of it?

ToxicSpikes: Very funny.

LeafMeAlone: As much as I hate to agree, I think that's the only way out of this mess.

The faint sound of footsteps snapped Leaf's gaze up from her phone.

LeafMeAlone: Oh fuck, Lance has woken up.  
LeafMeAlone: Please come to my funeral.

ToxicSpikes: Good luck X

The footsteps got louder, and Leaf briefly contemplated hiding under the covers and pretending to be asleep. It was still early, so it might work. Although she knew deep down that she would have to face this eventually.

The slow creak of the door, followed by a distinct mop of spiky red hair peeking around it. "Hey, how are you feeling?" 

"I'm alright." Leaf bluntly replied, using the tone that usually shut down conversations. Unfortunately for her, Lance could pry conversation from a rock, so she was out of luck there.

Leaf's day took a turn from bad to worse when the rest of Lance's body entered the room, he was still in his clothes from the previous night, cape and all. Although what drew Leaf's attention the most were the two steaming mugs in his hands.

 _Oh Arceus there goes whatever is left of my dignity_

Lance approached the bed, Leaf curled her legs up to her chest to make room for him to sit down. The bed creaked slightly as Lance sat down, a warm smile on his face. 

He extended one of the mugs towards her, which she just looked at, slightly confused. "It's hot chocolate." He clarified. "It'll help you wake up" 

She took hold of the handle cautiously, careful not to touch the scalding surface of the mug. "Thanks, but you didn't have to" she said automatically. 

She was really sitting in Lance's house, at 4:30 in the morning, after breaking down the previous night, and now Lance had made her hot chocolate. This sounded more like a nightmare than anything, and Leaf almost wished that it was.

"It's no problem" his smile widened briefly. "So, what do you remember from last night?"

"Much to my displeasure, all of it." Leaf sighed, which caused Lance to chuckle gently.

"And how do you feel?" He asked again, obviously not accepting the earlier answer. 

"Bloody mortified" she groaned, burying her face into her knees. 

Lance chuckled again, but rested a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't be, I promise it's alright" 

Leaf couldn't quite believe what was happening, it was all just.... surreal. "I didn't actually fall asleep.... did I?" She hesitated, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"You did." Lance smirked, which did not help the blush that had sprung across Leaf's entire face. 

Leaf cringed harder than ever before. She really did not want to look at the dragon tamer. Even if he said it was alright, Leaf felt it was the most embarrassing thing known to man. "Arceus have mercy" she grumbled.

"Hey, I already told you it was okay." He rubbed her shoulder soothingly. "I'm glad you talked to me" 

"I'm not." Leaf sighed, face still hidden in her knees. 

"Well, you should be" Lance scooted a little closer to her, wrapping more of his arm around her body. "I promise I'm not mad, quite the opposite, actually." 

"Why not? You should be mad." Leaf groaned. Lance frowned slightly.

"Alright, young lady. Why should I be mad?" He asked. Leaf only grumbled something vague in response, which was muffled by her legs. 

"What was that?" He asked, only to receive another grumble in response. "Alright, If there really is something I should be mad about, which I don't think there is, you need to actually use your words"

Leaf briefly removed her face from her knees in order to give Lance an 'are you kidding?' expression.

"I yelled at you in front of the elite four, I started crying in front of the elite four, I ditched the match and made you deal with all the paperwork and backlash by yourself." Leaf briefly paused for breath. "Then I ran off with the idol group, I started crying in front of you again, then i broke down in front of you for a second time and to top it all off, I fell asleep and you carried me to your guest room?" 

Leaf buried her face back into her knees as soon as she was done. Lance resisted the urge to sigh. 

"Is that all?" He asked, a small smile forming. "Why would I be mad about any of that?" 

"W-what?" Leaf asked, lifting her head to look at Lance, the warm smile on his face didn't falter. 

"I asked, why would I be mad about that?" He shifted even closer, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "You were angry, rightfully so. There's absolutely nothing wrong with expressing how you feel. In this case, it's a good thing, because now I know what's wrong, I can help" 

"I don't need help" Leaf protested weakly. "I've dealt with this for years, I can keep dealing with it." 

"That's not a good thing, you know" Lance raised an eyebrow. "If anything, I should be the one apologising. I shouldn't have acted the way I did, and I guess this is how I make it up to you, by listening to what you need"

"Well..." Leaf struggled to think of another protest. "What about the match, I left you to cancel that all on your own, and then I ran off to perform... I'd be mad about that"

"I didn't expect that reaction from you, sure." Lance began, his tone gentle. "But once I found out the reason why, I completely understood." He squeezed her shoulder again. "I didn't act like a good mentor, or a good boss, and I cannot apologise enough for that. You had every right to be angry about that, I would've done a lot worse than just storming out if I was in your shoes" 

Leaf let her legs uncurl, letting them hang off the side of the bed. 

"I mean it, you shouldn't feel bad about this" Lance smiled at her playfully. "I meant everything I said last night, and I have a feeling you did as well" 

Leaf grumbled something under her breath before turning her body away from Lance. Lance took a sip from his mug to fill the awkward pause.

"I haven't poisoned that, you know?" Lance joked, noticing that Leaf hadn't touched her drink yet. 

She looked down into the cup, seeing so many mini marshmallows swimming in the mug it was a miracle she could even see the hot chocolate. She certainly didn't expect Lance to be the type of person that flooded his cup with mini-marshmallows, but she didn't complain.

She reluctantly took a sip, the sweetness springing out at her immediately. It reminded her of Iris' pitiful attempt at poffins, but at least this actually tasted good.

"It's really nice" she smiled, the sweetness of the chocolate spread out across her tongue, a strange warmth seeming to flow through her. "Thanks" 

"No problem, kid" Lance patted her shoulder playfully. "Its the least I can do" 

_did Lance just call me 'Kid'?_

_He did._

"So...." She shifted, growing uncomfortable. "Surprise?"

"About what?" He asked.

"The Idol group." She bit her lip. "I know you might not approve, but I enjoy being a part of it." She shifted a bit more. 

"Ah yes." Lance laughed quietly. "I didn't expect it, but we all have our private lives, don't we?" He took another swig from his hot chocolate. "I never would have thought about it, and I don't think Koga would have either" 

Leaf drummed her fingers on the side of the mug, just to keep her hands vaguely busy. "So yeah, that's why I sometimes disappear for hours when I'm meant to be working"

"Well, that's a relief" he sighed. "We were beginning to suspect you had joined team rocket or something" 

"Funny, I had to tell Red that as well" a ghost of a smile appeared on Leaf's face, which Lance was more than happy to see.

"Karen is going to ask for your autograph when you go back, you know that, right?" Leaf rolled her eyes. 

"I never took Karen for the idol group type. You either to be honest" She took another swig of the sticky marshmallow concoction in the mug. "I guess appearances can be deceiving" 

"Of course" He smiled to himself. "I'm sure there are things about me that you didn't guess from my appearance" 

"Well, I never would have guessed that you like marshmallows this much" Leaf took another sip "Not that I blame you, marshmallows are amazing" 

He laughed loudly, "Thank you, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so" 

For the first time, Leaf chuckled quietly to herself. This was weird, very weird, but at least she didn't feel like she wanted to curl up into a ball and cry anymore. She almost felt comfortable, although that was pushing it.

Lance was more than happy to hear Leaf laugh. She didn't seem as tense anymore. "So, purely out of curiosity, when did you start sneaking out?"

"Around seven months ago?" Leaf thought for a moment. "Yeah, seven months, eight in a couple weeks" 

"Wow, I'm impressed" Lance raised his eyebrows. "No offence, but I never thought you were the type to keep a secret." 

"Mhm, and I never thought you were the type of person to not realise I was keeping a secret" Leaf shot back.

"Alright, you got me there" Lance admitted, still smiling. "Does this mean I get VIP tickets to your next concert, then?" 

"Wait. You still want to come?" Leaf asked incredulously, "I didn't think you'd be interested." 

Lance took a large sip from his cup before replying. "Of course, I may be a champion, and a first rate dragon master, but I still have interests you know?" He smirked slyly "And someone has to make sure you're not doing anything stupidly dangerous" 

"Bit late for that." Leaf commented with a smirk, the memories of some of their previous meet ups surfaced as a reminder. At least they now knew that Mt silver was not a good place to meet, and that while you CAN cook lava cookies in the lava of mt. Chimney, you SHOULDN'T. 

Leaf still had the burn mark on her shin from that incident, and the group had subsequently decided to never trust Iris around anything hot ever again. Or Mallow. The poffin incident only confirmed this.

"I have a feeling I shouldn't ask" Leaf nodded in agreement.

"If you want to meet the rest of the group, you can come to one of our practices? I'm sure they wouldn't mind" Leaf traced the rim of her mug with her index finger, watching as the marshmallows melted into the sweet brown concoction.

"Sure, I'd love to meet your friends. I could even supervise if you want?" Lance grinned, which caused Leaf to snort. 

"Are you my dad or something?" She asked with a smirk.

"Do you want me to be?" Lance asked, causing Leaf to choke on her hot chocolate.

"Wait, what?" Leaf did a double take. "What do you mean?" 

Lance seemed serious in his response "I mean, I wouldn't want to impose, but if you wanted that type of relationship with me, I wouldn't mind" 

Leaf stared at Lance blankly, her mind processing several thousand layers of 'what the fuck did you just say?'. 

_did this idiot just..... ask to be my dad?_

_he did._

_Arceus save me_

"Uhhhhhhh" Leaf's mind blue-screened "Ignoring how incredibly creepy that sounds, considering I am a minor, where did this come from?" 

"No, I didn't mean it like that" Lance backed off slightly. "I just meant, I've not really been the best boss, or the best mentor, and I guess I just assumed taking care of you is kind of like what a dad would do?"

"You're an idiot, you know that, right?" Leaf rolled her eyes, but a small smile formed at Lance's antics. 

"Sorry, that was a really weird thing to say, wasn't it?" Lance seemed to realise his mistake. "I may have gone a bit too far" 

"No shit." Leaf raised an eyebrow. Although Lance's words stuck in her head for a weird reason. This really was something a father would do, isn't it? The hot chocolate only further confused the matter. 

"Language" Lance playfully scolded. 

"Like you haven't said worse" Leaf shot back. 

"Yes, but I'm an adult" Lance explained, taking another sip. "You aren't" 

Leaf rolled her eyes at that, but smiled nonetheless. "Whatever you say" 

\------------------------------

Janine was not a person that swore a lot, but it was damn near impossible to keep her composure in this situation. 

Waking up, covered in a ton of fluffy blankets that Koga reserved for the winter months, with a small horde of stuffed Pokemon surrounding her. It was enough to make her flush bright red. 

Sure, she expected a bit of a reaction, but not like this.

She was now staring at the wall, clutching one of her plushies. She still had no clue how Koga managed to find them, the last thing she would have admitted to her father was that she liked sleeping with Pokemon stuffies.

Yet, here she was. Sitting on her fathers bed while clutching an Ariados plush. Ariados was her oldest plush, one that Koga had bought her when she was very young. When she grew older, she had lied that she threw the plush away a long time ago, but she couldn't deny that it was nice to hug something now and then.

Even though the plush was worn, it was a comforting feeling nonetheless. Whenever things got particularly bad, it was always nice to just cry into the fabric, as sad as that was. It was there for her when she couldn't go to her father, it was nonjudgmental.

Whenever she felt the overwhelming guilt after looking at the brand new cuts, the first thing she would turn to were the plushies. They were the only much-needed support she had.

Of course, she would never admit this to her father in a million years, but she felt comforted in the thought that her father would never find them. Unfortunately, it was clear now that he had.

5:30AM. Koga could very much be awake by now. 

Janine just hoped he wasn't. 

"Morning" A voice said, startling Janine into dropping the plush to the floor. 

"Good morning, father." Janine replied automatically, straightening her posture when turning to face the man in the doorway. She used one of her feet to kick the plushie under the bed, hopefully out of sight.

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked, tone slightly gentler than before. "You seemed very tired last night" 

"Yes, I feel fine." Janine kept her tone level, as though maintaining the tone she used while training with her father could spare her from showcasing her emotions.

"Is there anything you need?" He asked, even gentler than before.

"No, I'm alright." She smiled weakly at her father, which only increased his worry. 

"Are you certain?" He asked cautiously. "Do not hesitate to ask me for anything" 

"I assure you, I am alright" Janine replied, a little too quickly for Koga to buy it. All of Janine's experience in lying and talking her way out of situations seemed to evaporate under Koga's piercing eyes.

"What's wrong?" Koga pressed, tone a little more forceful. "I can tell there is something bothering you" 

"Well, I guess you could call it that" she sighed. "Last night, I said some things I regret. I know I should be thankful, or at the very least happy. But I still feel guilty about it all." 

"Do not feel ashamed for expressing weakness" Koga reassured. "There is no shame in admitting you are out of your depth, there is only shame in lying about it" 

"Still feels weird though" Janine fiddled with the fabric of the bedsheets absentmindedly, not really paying attention to anything. It was hard to focus on her fathers words when her thoughts swarmed her head like an angered hive of combee.

"You understand your mistake now, however?" Koga raised an eyebrow, causing Janine to look away.

"Yes" she admitted. "I shouldn't have done that to myself. I should've thought about how much it would hurt you" 

There was a silence, Janine could feel her fathers cold eyes on her.

"I don't think you did." He slowly approached the bed. "I cannot hide the fact that I am hurt, but the message I expected you to take from this incident was that you should talk to me when things bother you." 

"I don't think I understand" Janine admitted, Koga slowly made his way over to sit next to her. 

"I am your father. It is my job to be there for you when you need me. I understand I haven't done a good job in that regard, and I offer my heartfelt apologies to you" he didn't break eye contact, even when Janine refused to look at him, instead looking at the floor.

"I hope you have realised that I will always be here to listen, and that opening up about your struggles to me will never be a burden" he softly explained. "So, please don't hesitate to come to me in future"

She nodded wordlessly, not trusting her voice not to shake.

"And on that subject" Koga seemed to procure a medical kit from thin air. "As I clean up those cuts, I think we need to have a little chat about health and safety." 

Janine knew what was coming, so she rolled up the sleeve of her right arm without a single word. She extended it out to her father, who took a few antibacterial wipes from the plastic box.

"I've come up with a few rules, and I would like to confirm with you that they are alright." Koga gently caressed some of the angry red patches on her arm as he opened the packet of wipes.

As the familiar sting of pain shot through her arm, Koga's tone turned more stern. "I want you to promise me that you will keep any and all new wounds free from dirt and makeup for at least two days afterwards." 

Janine silently nodded, wondering where this was going.

"I'd also like you to contact me afterwards, or ideally before." He cleaned a little more forcefully, which caused Janine to wince. "You have my number, please do not hesitate to call me, or even text me." He paused briefly. "Are these rules okay with you so far?"

"Mhm" she hummed, having to clench her teeth at the pain. Koga seemed to squint at her arm slightly, and sighed.

"This is exactly the reason why" he reached back into the first aid kit, pulling out a bottle of Neosporin. "You have an infection, it looks minor, but I will keep an eye on it just in case."

Janine felt a surge of guilt run through her at her fathers words. She knew what she was doing wasn't safe, but she thought that if the wounds were small, they couldn't get infected. She should've known that wasn't the case.

She didnt know what to say. So she stuck with a simple "Sorry".

"It's alright." Koga rubbed the ointment in with more vigour than before. "But I believe we should have a talk about why, now that you're in a better state of mind"

"Oh." 

"Oh, exactly" Koga commented, leaving a painful silence in his wake. 

"..."

"..."

"Why did you do it?" He asked, using the tone he reserved for baby Pokemon. 

"I didn't know what else to do." Janine admitted with a sigh, she knew that Koga was about to interrupt so she quickly cut him off. "Before you say, 'you could have talked to me' It's not that simple."

"... I'm listening" 

"I felt so awful." Janine felt the overwhelming urge to grab one of the stuffed Pokemon off the bed and never let go, but she resisted the temptation. "You were away at the elite four, you trusted me to run the gym, I felt... alone" 

Koga continued to massage the ointment into the reddened skin.

"I don't like myself, I don't think I ever have." She looked down at the floor again, sock-covered toes nervously fiddling together just so she had something to distract herself. "Running the gym every day, and having to see all those trainers that look like me..."

"... it just became too much" she admitted with a heavy sigh. "I wanted to make the pain go away, I wanted to show that I could cope without having to rely on you" 

"..."

"..."

"...so, I don't know if that's what you wanted to hear, but that's the truth" Janine looked back at Koga with the most determined gaze she could muster. Koga retracted the wipe with the ointment from her skin. 

"I have a feeling you don't want me to apologise, but I can't help but feel this is at least partially my fault." He sighed, causing Janine to notice just how aged his features looked. His eyes were sunken and dark, not made better by the obvious lack of sleep.

"Thank you." He took hold of his daughter's hands, the difference in size even more obvious. "Thank you for letting me know about this."

"I know that doubting yourself won't just magically go away because we talked about it once, but I hope that being able to come to me when things bother you is at least somewhat reassuring." He caressed her hand gently.

"I'm proud of you, you know that right?" He smiled, resisting the urge to hug his daughter tightly, he assumed she wouldn't be alright with more physical contact, so he had to be content with this tiny gesture. 

"You're my daughter. I will always love you, and I think you're beautiful." Koga didn't miss the sheen of Janine's eyes as liquid began to pool, even though she blinked rapidly to disguise it. "It might not be much, coming from an old man like me, but I felt you needed to hear it." 

Janine bit her lip before replying in a shaky voice. Two simple words that made Koga's heart swell. "Thank you" 

They stayed like that for a little while, Koga refused to comment on the single streak of water that rolled down Janine's face. Janine was similarly silent.

Eventually, Koga broke the silence by ducking down, grabbing something that Janine thought was out of sight. "I think you dropped this" 

The Ariados plush was dropped onto her lap, and Janine opened her mouth to retort. "I'm too old to have stuffed Pokemon".

"I disagree" Koga smiled at her, eyes almost uncharacteristically soft. "You're thirteen, and also, you can use stuffed Pokemon at any age" 

"I don't like things like this" Janine softly took the Ariados from her lap and placed it on the bed, "I'm not soft like that" 

"This pile of plushies that I found in your room suggests otherwise." He picked the plush up from the bed and held it back out to a blushing Janine. "There's nothing wrong with liking things of this nature." 

Janine hesitated, before taking the plush back from Koga, she grumbled a weak protest as she buried her face into the soft plush. Koga chuckled lightly at the display. 

"You're going to have to get better at hiding spots." Koga commented with a smirk. "I also took back that box of cereal you had hidden under your bed, and I decided not to go through the little pink journal that I found there either" 

He chuckled even more when Janine turned an even brighter shade of red, wrapping both arms around the stuffed Ariados as she groaned words of protest that were lost against the fabric. 

"I shall make a start on breakfast, you come through once you're ready" with a light pat to Janine's shoulder, Koga left the room.

Things weren't perfect, but they could certainly get better now.  
\-------------------------------

~LeafMeAlone created the group 'Introductions'~ 

~Leaf added WaterLily, Marshmallow, DropDeadGorgeous, MayIHaveYourAttention, SereineGrace, RoseMarnie, EasilyExcitableDragon and ToxicSpikes.~

~Leaf added Lance and Koga~

LeafMeAlone: Alright, please play nice.  
LeafMeAlone: I'm looking at you, Peonia.

DropDeadGorgeous: (:<

EasilyExcitableDragon: ((((((((: 

MayIHaveYourAttention: What is this?

Lance: Hello everyone!

LeafMeAlone: Basically, Lance has asked to meet the idol group.  
LeafMeAlone: So did Koga.  
LeafMeAlone: So, we're going to be on our best behaviour, alright?

DropDeadGorgeous: LOL no.

DropDeadGorgeous changed Lance's name to 'IceTypesScareMe' 

IceTypesScareMe: Hey!

Marshmallow: PEONIA. 

EasilyExcitableDragon: HAHAHAHAHHAHA

SereineGrace: For the love of- 

MayIHaveYourAttention: Can you behave for one minute?

DropDeadGorgeous: No ❤️

WaterLily: I don't like fighting (T-T) 

MayIHaveYourAttention: You made Lillie upset!  
MayIHaveYourAttention: Apologise.

DropDeadGorgeous: Sorry Lillie

MayIHaveYourAttention: No, apologise to Lance.

DropDeadGorgeous: No ❤️

SereineGrace: What did I expect?

IceTypesScareMe: I certainly didn't expect this.

ToxicSpikes: I've been on this chat for 2 minutes and we're already bullying Lance.  
ToxicSpikes: I genuinely don't know what I expected.

RoseMarnie changed IceTypesScareMe's name to 'AngelMaster' 

DropDeadGorgeous: HAHAHAHA

EasilyExcitableDragon: HAHAHAHA

Marshmallow: HAHAHAHAHA

AngelMaster: Angel master?

MayIHaveYourAttention: Okay, I admit that is very funny.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: But we shouldn't bully Lance.

RoseMarnie: It's fun.

LeafMeAlone: Lance, I apologise. 

AngelMaster: Is this a joke I don't understand? 

WaterLily: Yes (´∀｀)

LeafMeAlone: Can we please...  
LeafMeAlone: Act like decent humans for at least the next 10 minutes?

DropDeadGorgeous: I shall try.

LeafMeAlone: Good.  
LeafMeAlone. let's introduce.

Koga: I feel as though this is a bad time.

LeafMeAlone: No, it isn't.  
LeafMeAlone. let's start with Peonia, since she loves the spotlight so much.

DropDeadGorgeous: P:  
DropDeadGorgeous: I'm Peonia. I'm from galar, my uncle is in prison for almost ending the world. 

SereineGrace: I wouldn't have said it like that-

MayIHaveYourAttention: I- 

DropDeadGorgeous: Anyways,  
DropDeadGorgeous: My stage name is Flùr, my dad is hella overprotective so I haven't told him about being an Idol.  
DropDeadGorgeous: Nice to meet you d: 

Koga: Nice to meet you too.  
Koga: I hope your uncle is alright.

AngelMaster: Strange introduction, but it's good to meet you!  
AngelMaster: I'm Lance, current champion of Jhoto 

DropDeadGorgeous: I'm aware.  
DropDeadGorgeous: Leaf told us a lot about you.  
DropDeadGorgeous. Thankfully, I cancelled the hitman I hired after you two made up.  
DropDeadGorgeous: Don't make me regret my decision (:

AngelMaster: That's... 

LeafMeAlone: Could you be any blunter?

DropDeadGorgeous: Nah.

ToxicSpikes: Don't listen to Peonia.  
ToxicSpikes: She'll warm up to you eventually (:

LeafMeAlone: MOVING ON.  
LeafMeAlone: Marnie.

RoseMarnie: Hello.  
RoseMarnie: My older brother is the second last galar gym leader, and also leader of team Yell.  
RoseMarnie: He's very protective, so I have to get Peonia's help to sneak out. 

DropDeadGorgeous: As a fellow girl with a protective family member, I am obligated to help.

RoseMarnie: Also my stage name is Marie and I love everything pink.

Marshmallow: Marnie is quite shy until you get to know her  
Marshmallow: But online she is very different. 

Koga: Well, it's nice to meet you, Marnie

AngelMaster: Very nice to meet you  
AngelMaster: Your outfits are very nice

RoseMarnie: Oh, thank you.  
RoseMarnie: You're still AngelMaster though.

AngelMaster: Can someone explain this joke to me?

LeafMeAlone: I'd rather not.  
LeafMeAlone: Alright, Serena.

SereineGrace: Hi, I'm Serena and I'm a fashion designer from Kalos.  
SereineGrace: I work with Diantha and Valerie.  
SereineGrace: I design the outfits for the group, and my stage name is Sereine 

DropDeadGorgeous: She is also 100% done with everyone's bs 

Koga: You work with Diantha? That's very impressive.  
Koga: A pleasure to meet you. 

AngelMaster: Wow, it's an honour.  
AngelMaster: I know Will is a big fan of your work.

SereineGrace: Like, the elite four will?  
SereineGrace: Damn I'm not used to compliments.

Marshmallow: Awwwww

LeafMeAlone: Okay, Iris is next.

EasilyExcitableDragon: Hey, how come Koga is the only one here without a nickname  
EasilyExcitableDragon: ):

DropDeadGorgeous: Yeah, it ruins the vibes.

Koga: I apologise?  
Koga: What should I change my name to?

RoseMarnie. Idk.

DropDeadGorgeous: (:<

DropDeadGorgeous changed Koga's name to DILF 

LeafMeAlone: NO!

MayIHaveYourAttention: FOR THE LOVE OF-

EasilyExcitableDragon: HAHAHSHDJDHSJSJSHSHSJSJSJSHSHJSJS

DILF: What's a Dilf? 

ToxicSpikes: I think I'm about to vomit.

RoseMarnie: Is she wrong?

Marshmallow: HAHAHAHA

MayIHaveYourAttention: PEONIA WE ARE 13. 

DropDeadGorgeous: I'm 14 in a few months so （╹◡╹）

WaterLily: Oh dear (=´∀｀)

DILF: I'm going to google it. 

ToxicSpikes. DON'T YOU DARE!

AngelMaster: I'm scared to ask. 

DropDeadGorgeous: Good.

LeafMeAlone: MOVING ON.  
LeafMeAlone: IRIS, GO.

EasilyExcitableDragon: I'm Iris! But my stage name is Kayda  
EasilyExcitableDragon: I'm the Unova dragon master (:<

LeafMeAlone: She's basically a ball of energy personified  
LeafMeAlone: She has the energy of a thousand suns and then some.

MayIHaveYourAttention: Can confirm.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: Also never let Iris within 10 miles of a kitchen.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: Or Peonia.

EasilyExcitableDragon: Hey!

AngelMaster: A fellow dragon type fan  
AngelMaster: I hope we can battle one day (:

EasilyExcitableDragon: I'm the better dragon master.

EasilyExcitableDragon changed their name to TheRealDragonMaster  
TheRealDragonMaster changed AngelMaster's name to FlyingTypeMaster

MayIHaveYourAttention: Has this chat devolved into bullying Lance?

DropDeadGorgeous: Wouldn't have it any other way.

TheRealDragonMaster: ((((:

FlyingTypeMaster: Flying type master?

SereineGrace: To be fair your entire team is flying type

FlyingTypeMaster: Hey!

RoseMarnie: Is she wrong?

LeafMeAlone: Okay, Okay,  
LeafMeAlone: Mallow, you're next.

Marshmallow: I'm Mallow, I am a first year in the Alola trainer school  
Marshmallow: My stage name is Kaliko, and I like this group because I don't have to keep up a persona!

WaterLily: She also runs a really famous restaurant in Alola with her dad.

Marshmallow: Against my will.  
Marshmallow: But let's not get into that, shall we?

DILF: You're from Alola?  
DILF: This group has members from all around the globe, huh?

MayIHaveYourAttention: For the love of Arceus, someone change Koga's name back  
MayIHaveYourAttention: But yes, it does!

ToxicSpikes changed DILF's name to NinjaFather

FlyingTypeMaster: Great to meet you, Mallow.  
FlyingTypeMaster: What Pokemon do you have?

Marshmallow. I have a bounsweet right now  
Marshmallow: And a fomantis 

FlyingTypeMaster: Can't wait to meet them!

WaterLily: Mallow is like a big sister  
WaterLily: She cares for her Pokemon a whole lot.

Marshmallow: Stop, I'm blushing.

LeafMeAlone: Also, Mallow is the only one here without a flying Pokemon.  
LeafMeAlone: She almost made us late to go on stage once.

Marshmallow. That was ONE time! ):

NinjaFather: Maybe you should catch a flying type?  
NinjaFather: I am partial to a Crobat, but it's always convenient to have a Pokemon that can fly.

FlyingTypeMaster: Dragonites are hard to raise, but I think it's very rewarding.

Marshmallow: Aw, thanks. I'll think about it (:

LeafMeAlone: Alright, Lillie!  
LeafMeAlone: You're up

WaterLily: Oh, uh...  
WaterLily: I'm Lillie, I have a togekiss  
WaterLily: And um...

MayIHaveYourAttention: It's alright, take your time.

WaterLily: Sorry, I just get nervous around new people ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡ 

NinjaFather: There's no rush

WaterLily: Ahh, sorry.  
WaterLily: Can one of you do it for me?

MayIHaveYourAttention: No problem.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: This is Lillie, she's also a first year from Alola.

Marshmallow: She's in my class, and she's really smart  
Marshmallow: She lives with the professor, Kukui

DropDeadGorgeous: She's kinda shy, as you can tell  
DropDeadGorgeous: Her stage name is Mahina, and a lot of our fans really like her.

FlyingTypeMaster. Well, it's great to meet you, Lillie  
FlyingTypeMaster: And there's no need to be nervous

NinjaFather: It's a pleasure meeting you  
NinjaFather: You sound like a great trainer

WaterLily: Oh, uh, thanks  
WaterLily: (〃ω〃)

SereineGrace: Lillie is the only one here that has a filter  
SereineGrace: I'd say that's a good thing.

ToxicSpikes: I can't even disagree here. 

FlyingTypeMaster: I hope this isn't rude, but why did you become a performer if you're shy?

WaterLily: Uh, well.  
WaterLily: I don't really know myself.  
WaterLily: I just really enjoy it  
WaterLily: But that's probably not the answer you wanted, sorry.

FlyingTypeMaster: Hey, it's no problem (:  
FlyingTypeMaster. I was just curious

LeafMeAlone: Okay, last but not least.  
LeafMeAlone: May!

MayIHaveYourAttention: I'm May, the Hoenn champion.

FlyingTypeMaster: May? Like THE May?  
FlyingTypeMaster: This is an unexpected development

MayIHaveYourAttention: Yes, I remember, we met at the last annual championship meet-up.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: I swept your entire team because I have Ice beam on my Swampert 

DropDeadGorgeous: Oh wow.

SereineGrace: I'm not surprised.

NinjaFather: So you're a champion and an idol?  
NinjaFather: That must be difficult to juggle

MayIHaveYourAttention: It is, but it's definitely worth it.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: My stage name is June because I thought it was funny

Marshmallow: It's hilarious.

SereineGrace: May is the only person here with more than 2 brain cells.  
SereineGrace: Actually, I think Lillie has more than 2 as well.

DropDeadGorgeous: May is Mum friend.

FlyingTypeMaster: Well, it's nice meeting you, again.

MayIHaveYourAttention: Same here.

LeafMeAlone: And you already know me and Janine, so that's all of us.  
LeafMeAlone: Do you still want to come to our next meet-up?

FlyingTypeMaster: Well, you are all certainly a strange bunch  
FlyingTypeMaster: But I trust all of you are good people (:

DropDeadGorgeous: We literally just bullied you the entire time how can you tolerate us?

NinjaFather: I feel the same way.  
NinjaFather: I won't pretend to understand why, but I see that all of you are good people  
NinjaFather: Please take care of Janine.

TheRealDragonMaster: You're saying that like you're planning on leaving ):

MayIHaveYourAttention: don't worry, I think they're staying.

~LeafMeAlone changed the group name from 'Introductions' to 'Finally some people with common sense'~

LeafMeAlone: Yes, I'm referring to Koga and Lance with that comment  
LeafMeAlone: because some people here sure as hell don't have it.

NinjaFather: Are you saying you want us to stay?

DropDeadGorgeous: Ofc!

SereineGrace: I do, at least

Marshmallow: Yeah! I want the chat-dads to stay

FlyingTypeMaster: Chat-dads? 

Marshmallow: You're already a better father than mine is.

WaterLily: Umm  
WaterLily: I kind of like the chat dads  
WaterLily: So please stay?

MayIHaveYourAttention: Unfortunately, you are part of this family now  
MayIHaveYourAttention: There is no going back.

LeafMeAlone: Exactly.  
LeafMeAlone: You are forbidden from leaving.

DropDeadGorgeous: Stay, or I'll tell that hitman I changed my mind (:

FlyingTypeMaster: Oh, Well, this is flattering to say the least.  
FlyingTypeMaster. Sure, I'll stay (:

NinjaFather: if you truly do not mind  
NinjaFather: I suppose I will stay as well.

TheRealDragonMaster: yay!!!!!!!!  
TheRealDragonMaster: Welcome to hell! 

Marshmallow: Wohoo!

DropDeadGorgeous: Yassss!  
DropDeadGorgeous: More people for me to annoy!

MayIHaveYourAttention: Please don't.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: But I am also glad to have more people that are sensible.

ToxicSpikes: Um  
ToxicSpikes: Welcome to the club I guess?

LeafMeAlone: Welcome. Enjoy your stay.  
LeafMeAlone: Or don't, I can't tell you what to do.  
LeafMeAlone: Also, Lance, be glad that other people agree with you on the whole 'dad' thing.

SereineGrace: Lance is a better dad than my actual dad 

Marshmallow: Damn, same.

WaterLily: I hate to agree, but it's true (=´∀｀)

Marshmallow: You have Kukui, but I see your point.

FlyingTypeMaster: See? It wasn't that weird.

LeafMeAlone: It was, but go off.

DropDeadGorgeous: Ha.

LeafMeAlone: Anyways, you are chat dad now  
LeafMeAlone: You have no say in the matter.

RoseMarnie: So is Koga.  
RoseMarnie: We have reverse adopted you. 

NinjaFather: Oh, thank you?

FlyingTypeMaster: Am I surprised? Yes  
FlyingTypeMaster: Am I on board with this? Also yes. 

TheRealDragonMaster: Yay!!!!!

\-------------------------------  
~Koga~

Koga: So do they actually mean the whole 'dad' thing?  
Koga: or is this another one of their jokes

Lance: I honestly have no idea  
Lance: most likely a mix of both.

Koga: Ah.  
Koga: Well, it's probably just their way of joking around

Lance: I suppose  
Lance: I guess we'll just have to wait and see (:

Koga: Ah, I suppose that is the case

Lance: I have a feeling this will be chaotic  
Lance: But I don't think we'll regret this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins (:< the dad gang has begun, and they will only grow as the chapters go on.
> 
> (Also, 13,000 words. This is the longest chapter I've ever written.) 
> 
> Notes.
> 
> Natsu Owaranai de is a love song, but I was more inspired by the sadness of it than the romance part. This fic will try to avoid specifying romantic pairings as much as possible, but I definitely have some in mind while writing. I will probably say at the very end which ones I had in mind. 
> 
> (Just to clarify. This is pairings between the minors x minors. I do not endorse any minor x adult ships. Any interactions between a minor and an adult are always intended to be PG with no romantic feelings.)


	5. The prettiest flowers have thorns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Song - Bokura no Live Kimito no Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: panic attacks and bad fathers

"You saw the concert, right?" Hau prodded, clearly not considering the large dark bags under Mallow's eyes. 

Trainer school.... fun. Or at least it was meant to be. If stumbling into the classroom with no sleep because a certain father insisted she clean the whole restaurant by herself, and the knowledge that she would have to return to said restaurant the very next evening and do it all again counted as fun, then yes. 

At least the students were nice to hang out with, even if it often turned into a game of 'who can make Mallow the most exhausted'. She knew they weren't intentionally doing it, but damn, it was difficult to act like she was happy all the time when all the energy had been sucked from her between the idol meet ups, performances, and stupid working hours. 

"Of course I did" Mallow responded with her usual grin, even though it was extremely forced, she was used to making such an expression. "Who's your favourite member?" 

"It has to be June, 1000%" Hau grinned, resting his hands behind his head. "She's amazing, I love her voice" 

"Mahina is my favourite, obviously" Lana traced her finger along the wood of the desk. "I think everyone likes her, but what is there not to like about her?" 

"Well, I prefer Flùr." Sophocles placed his hands on his hips. "She's the most energetic, which is what I like about her?" 

Kiawe looked between the group, thoroughly confused. "When did you start liking idol groups?" He raised an eyebrow. 

"I don't usually" Hau explained, "But this one is different. I just find them really fun to watch!" 

A certain blond haired kid scoffed from across the room, Hau turned to face them, brows furrowed.

"Don't make fun of it, Gladion." He pouted "You have your own interests, and we have ours" 

Gladion rolled his eyes, letting his uneven bangs droop over his eye. "I'm not into that kind of thing, so don't force me into conversations that I clearly can't relate to" 

Something about Gladion's tone made people instinctively look towards Mallow, intentionally or not. Mallow was always the one that had to talk back to Gladion, because Mallow had to raise everyone's spirits, all the time.

She didn't know, or even remember, when she had inherited this title, but it was just one of the things that the class expected of her now. 

She had to be happy. She had to bring everyone else up. She had to be the energetic ray of sunshine, because if she wasn't, who else would be?

"Don't say that" Mallow pouted, but still maintaining the same smile she was used to. "They're allowed to have their own interests, and you can have yours" 

"Whatever." Gladion scoffed, but thankfully didn't press the matter further.

Mallow wondered briefly if Gladion even liked being part of the trainer school, or if he was only part of it in order to keep an eye on Lillie. The second one seemed most likely, as he made no effort to disguise his distaste for his classmates.

"Anyways, yesterday I managed to beat Hala's Hariyama with my popplio! I've never been able to do that before, but Popplio was able to show him who's boss" Hau switched the topic back to his battle training, as always.

Hau, he was such an interesting boy. So determined, but also quite oblivious to a lot of things. Although perhaps that was why he was always so happy, perhaps his ignorance to the darker parts of Alola was what kept him so lively. At least, that's the explanation that made the most sense to Mallow.

"My popplio is better than yours" Lana nonchalantly said. "I bet if we battled my popplio would be able to beat yours" 

Then there was Lana, definitely strange. So quiet, but at the same time so loud. It was as though staying quiet only made the times that she did speak that much more impactful. She didn't really know how to hold her tongue, which made for an interesting combination. 

"You're wasting your energy." Gladion huffed. "You have no reason to fight, especially amongst yourselves" 

Ah, and then there was Gladion. The one with the ability to annoy anyone within a 20 meter radius, and also the ability to pick a fight with a rock. The one that Mallow wasn't allowed to snap back at, because Mallow had to be the bigger person.

But damn, sometimes it was tempting to just say a snarky comment back for once. 

"Don't be like that!" Mallow grinned, resting her hands on her hips. "It's always fun to have a Pokemon battle!" 

"And we could go to Mallow's restaurant afterwards" Sophocles suggested. "I've been wanting to go all week" 

_Of course_

_Of course he wants to come to the restaurant when I'm exhausted and struggling not to fall apart_

"Sure, We could go after class!" Hau rested his hands behind his head "I'll pay for everyone's meal"

"Ah, you know it's always on the house for you all anyways" Mallow tried to ignore the knowledge that her father would yell at her again for that, but she could deal with that. She'd dealt with him all her life, she could deal with him now.

She could deal with him. 

Mallow looked over her shoulder at Lillie, who was at her desk with Gladion. She didn't make an effort to come over and talk to the group, although that wasn't unusual. The group knew she had social anxiety, so they never tried to rope her into conversations she wouldn't be comfortable with.

She seemed perfectly content making small talk with her brother away from the louder crowd anyways, and Mallow was fine with that.

"Wohoo! Free malasadas!" Hau and the rest of the group laughed, knowing that Hau was very willing to take advantage of this opportunity. 

"Hey." Kiawe suddenly appeared by Mallow, "you doing alright?" 

"Mhm" she nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?" 

"You just seem, less energetic than usual today" Kiawe noted "Late night?" 

_Oh wow, I'm not actually full of sunshine and rainbows when I'm sleep deprived and forced to work at a restaurant I don't like. Who would have thought it?_

_Because I've always got to be happy. Don't I?_

"Yeah, just a late night" She brushed off Kiawe with her signature fake smile "You know how it is, lots of dishes to do."

"Ah, I get it" Kiawe nodded. It wasn't exactly a lie, per se, the restaurant had a lot of dishes piling up, and Mallow had been forced to abandon her homework in order to get it all done. Obviously, her father had coincidentally decided to disappear as soon as there was work to be done.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be alright" Mallow said, if she could convince herself it was true, then she could make it true.

Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way.

\-------------------------------------------------

Not even Kukui could make certain topics interesting.

Functioning under several layers of sleep deprivation and having a completely drained social battery doesn't help matters. Unfortunately Mallow had to deal with this, because she had obligations as a student.

Status moves were something she had experience with, with years of experience as a grass type specialist, she was well versed when it came to knowledge of powder moves. Stun spore, sleep powder and poison powder were all moves she had on her team. 

As Kukui explained the effects of sleep in battle, she resisted the urge to collapse onto her desk. It felt like she had been hit with sleep powder, several thousand times. 

She didn't pay much attention to the rest of the lecture, leaning on her closed fist as she zoned out. She made sure to keep staring at the board though, to keep up the illusion that there was still some life in her dull eyes. 

Eventually, she was snapped out of her daydream by the vibration of her phone against her leg. She slowly took her phone from her pocket, tilting it up so she could see the message that came through.

Blondie: Can't help but notice you're not really paying attention to the lesson (￣▽￣)

Mallow smirked, and looked up from her phone to make eye contact with Lillie from across the room. She replied silently with a knowing smile.

DoItForTheVine: And you are?  
DoItForTheVine: Kukui's used yawn on us, because I'm about to fall asleep

A reply pinged back a few seconds later.

Blondie: It is a little dull...

DoItForTheVine: A little?  
DoItForTheVine: It's taking all my energy not to fall asleep.

Blondie: You sure that isn't the concert from last night?

DoItForTheVine: Fair.  
DoItForTheVine: But come on.  
DoItForTheVine: He couldn't make this a little more interesting?

Blondie: You work with these moves all the time  
Blondie: You should have no problem with this

DoItForTheVine: That's the problem though, I know all this already.  
DoItForTheVine: Sad thing is, I prefer this to going home

Blondie: ?

DoItForTheVine: My dad has me working at the restaurant again  
DoItForTheVine: Even though I don't like it.

Blondie: Oh (-_-)

DoItForTheVine: Yeah. Exactly  
DoItForTheVine: If there's anything I love more than entitled customers, its serving entitled customers while incredibly sleep deprived.  
DoItForTheVine: I love it so much. 

Blondie: Couldn't you take the day off?

DoItForTheVine: Hah.  
DoItForTheVine: I wish.  
DoItForTheVine: Getting him to give me a day off is like trying to convince a shellder not to bite you. 

Blondie: Well. At least you have a few hours of school left?  
Blondie: If that's an upside?

DoItForTheVine: I guess.  
DoItForTheVine: It's exhausting though.

Blondie: Can you please explain how sitting here and doing nothing is exhausting?

DoItForTheVine: Well, this is the easy part.  
DoItForTheVine: I hate talking to people.

Blondie: Same o(｀ω´ )o

DoItForTheVine: Yeah, but you don't have to talk to people  
DoItForTheVine: The know you have anxiety, so they won't bother you too much  
DoItForTheVine: But they expect me to talk to them.

Blondie: Don't you like that though?

DoItForTheVine: Yeah, they're my friends and all  
DoItForTheVine: But it's bloody exhausting being the bubbly one all the time.

Blondie: I mean, there's nothing stopping you from being... less bubbly?  
Blondie: Just be yourself, it's not like they'll judge you for it. 

DoItForTheVine: Hah. Yeah right.  
DoItForTheVine: I have to be happy and bubbly all the time because someone has to be.  
DoItForTheVine: No one likes someone who is down all the time

Blondie: Yes, but if you aren't usually that bubbly you don't have to force it 

DoItForTheVine: Yeah, but it's up to me to be that way.

Blondie: I'm confused?

DoItForTheVine: When Gladion is being a little prick and refuses to cooperate or even talk to anyone else in the class, who has to go over and get him to participate?  
DoItForTheVine: When Sophocles freezes up and can't talk to people, who has to remind him that it's okay?  
DoItForTheVine: When Kiawe gets too angry about something, who has to bring him back to his senses?

Blondie: Ah, I see your point

DoItForTheVine: People rely on me, for whatever reason  
DoItForTheVine: I don't like it, but it's just how it is  
DoItForTheVine: I have to be happy because if I'm not then I bring everyone else down

Blondie: But it's alright to not be like that!  
Blondie: They'll understand if you say you're tired today

DoItForTheVine: But it's not just today  
DoItForTheVine: It's every day, and it's bloody tiring.

Blondie: It's tiring talking to people?

DoItForTheVine: LOL yeah.  
DoItForTheVine: It's exhausting because I can't just... be me?  
DoItForTheVine: I don't know if that's the right way to phrase it

Blondie: I mean  
Blondie: You seem alright around the idol group?

DoItForTheVine: Yeah, because with the idol group I don't have to fake being happy  
DoItForTheVine: I'm actually happy.  
DoItForTheVine: Also, I don't have to be a literal fucking ray of sunshine when I'm with the group.

Blondie: Have you considered talking about this?

DoItForTheVine: Nah. They wouldn't understand 

Blondie: You don't know that. (￣^￣)ゞ

DoItForTheVine: I do.  
DoItForTheVine: Because I don't understand it either

Blondie: I understand  
Blondie: You have to be someone you're not, and it's exhausting  
Blondie: And your dad forces you to run the restaurant when you don't want to, which makes you even more tired

DoItForTheVine: Guess you're right  
DoItForTheVine: You always are (: 

Blondie: Stop (//∇//)  
Blondie: So, what are you gonna do about this?

DoItForTheVine: Nothing tbh  
DoItForTheVine: What can I even do?

Blondie: Talk to your friends.  
Blondie: Talk to your dad.

DoItForTheVine: Okay, the first one sounds easy but is literally impossible.  
DoItForTheVine: The second one I'm not even going to attempt.  
DoItForTheVine: You know exactly what happens when I talk back.

Blondie: Remember what Leaf and Janine went through?  
Blondie: Remember how everything got so much better when they just talked about it?

DoItForTheVine: Yeah, but Koga and Lance are genuinely good people  
DoItForTheVine: I wouldn't exactly call my dad that

Blondie: What do you mean?

DoItForTheVine: I mean. He's not the most accepting person.  
DoItForTheVine: If you haven't noticed.

Blondie: He hasn't...?

DoItForTheVine: No, but I can tell he doesn't really approve  
DoItForTheVine: If I asked for help, that would just fuel the fire. 

Blondie: Oh, I see  
Blondie: I'm really sorry about this. You don't deserve this.

DoItForTheVine: Not your fault.  
DoItForTheVine: It's alright. You can't change anything, so I guess there's nothing that can be done about it?

Blondie: I'm not giving up yet!  
Blondie: Could we talk to Kukui? Or Lance? Or Koga? 

DoItForTheVine: Please don't.  
DoItForTheVine: I don't want them to get involved in this.  
DoItForTheVine: This is my problem. I don't want to rope them into this

Blondie: Do the rest of the group know about this? 

DoItForTheVine: No, and I intend to keep it that way.

Blondie: Seriously?  
Blondie: You need to do something about this. ٩(๑`^´๑)۶  
Blondie: If he does anything else, please tell me?

DoItForTheVine: Don't worry. I will.

Blondie: You promise?

DoItForTheVine: I promise. 

The ringing of the school bell cut off whatever response Lillie was typing back. 

\--------------------------------------------------

"Table four need's cleaned" Her father barked, Mallow did her best to smile at him. 

"On it." 

The ringing of the bell caught her attention as she made her way to the kitchen, followed by the voices she recognised as her friends. 

"Let's sit up the back this time, I'm sure we could all fit in one of those tables" Hau's voice rang out across the restaurant. He was never really known for his inside voice, which at least made him easy to identify.

Mallow walked out into the dining area, cloth in hand as she approached the table. "Welcome, please enjoy your stay" She normally wouldn't have greeted her friends like that, but it was a policy she had to follow for all customers. Even if it was a weird way of saying hi.

"Hey Mallow!" Hau waved, despite being less than a meter away from her. "Good to see you" 

"We saw each other at school" Mallow joked, walking over to clean the table next to them. "Anyway, you all need menu's, correct? I'll go get them" 

Kiawe gave her a thumbs up symbol as she walked back to the kitchen. Cleaning rag still in her hand. 

Her father was waiting for her, arms crossed. 

"Are those your friends?" He asked, a bite to his words that Mallow recognised as a warning to watch her tone. 

"Yes." She said bluntly, not wanting to show weakness but also not wanting to risk angering him. "I'm off to get them menu's" 

"And I suppose they won't be paying for this meal either?" He shot back. "Like the other times they've come here" 

Mallow knew she shouldn't talk back to him, she knew that he would know how to twist her words to make her sound even worse if she even considered talking back. Instead, she kept her tone level as she responded.

"I have told you before that I pay their bills, from my bank account." She explained calmly. Her father narrowed his eyes at her.

"Watch your tone" He hissed. _Of course, it's not like I've had to watch it already in order to stop you from yelling at me_

There were a few seconds of silence, Mallow's dad looked her up and down, as if trying to gauge her emotions. Mallow herself had to try repress the fear she felt, if she showed she was scared, it would only egg him on.

"Table four still needs cleaned" He growled, shoving the menus in her direction with the obvious intent to make her drop them. Mallow carefully took the menus, then swiftly left the kitchen.

The kitchen was a terrifying place, especially during business hours. 

She slid over to the table with her friends, noticing that both Lillie and Gladion were part of the group. She didn't expect that, but she thought it was nice for Gladion to get some socialisation. 

"Okay, just tell me when you're ready to order" She flashed her customer service smile, before walking to the table that needed cleaned. 

She dropped the smile as she sprayed the wood, the cleaning product removing the sticky residue of spilled juice and food. She swiped the cloth over the table with a bit too much vigour, letting out what little anger she was allowed to when cleaning.

 _If only I could clear my own problems away as easy as this table_

\-------------------------------------------------

"Iris you little bitch!" Peonia yelped as the magazine she was reading was yanked out of her hands by a certain giggly child. 

"Language!" May scolded. 

The daily meeting of the group was in Kanto this time, with Lance generously volunteering one of the meeting rooms at the elite four headquarters. Said dragon master watched the scene unfold from across the room with an expression that was a mix of confusion and amusement. 

"Are they... always like this?" Koga asked quietly, Lillie tensed up but answered nonetheless.

"Haha, pretty much" She briefly put her pen down so that she could face Koga. "I think it's charming, in a weird way" 

"Hm, I suppose you may be right" Koga looked over at Iris, who was being chased across the room by Peonia. Unfortunately, Iris' balance was not the best, and she ended up tripping over a cable that was on the floor.

She hit the ground with a thud, the magazine flying from her hands and landing on the ground in front of her. 

Lance rose from his chair and went to help Iris up as Peonia snatched the magazine from the floor. 

"That was quite the fall" Lance commented, letting Iris take hold of his hand so he could pull her to her feet. "Are you alright?" 

"Yeah, I'm alright" She rubbed her forehead, which had turned bright red from the fall. She knew that she would end up getting a bruise there, but she really didn't mind. 

"You need to be more careful" May chided, smoothing down Iris' clothes to free it from dirt. "Don't take things that don't belong to you, either" 

May continued to scold a pouting Iris, with Lance occasionally jumping in to defend her. Across the room, Peonia sunk back into her seat, resuming her position in the magazine.

Serena, Marnie and Leaf stood by the corner of the room, Marnie plucked at her guitar as the three of them chatted.

At the table, Lillie, Janine and Koga all sat in the meeting chairs that were usually reserved for the elite four. Lillie drew in her sketchbook, while Janine observed. Koga seemed content in just watching the antics from the rest of the group.

It wasn't like they were tense around Koga and Lance, but the knowledge that there was an adult in the room definitely put them a little more on edge. 

Okay, SOME of them on edge. Namely Lillie and Marnie, with Serena also showing a bit of hesitation towards them.

"When's mallow going to be here?" Leaf groaned from the corner, Lillie looked up from her notebook. "She should have been here hours ago"

"She was supposed to come with me, but she said she had business at the restaurant, so I just told her to not take too long" Lillie explained, still feeling a little anxious at the presence of Koga, and so close to her as well. 

"You really trusted her on that?" May raised an eyebrow "You know what she's like, she can't keep track of time to save her life" 

Janine giggled, and Lillie didn't really have a rebuttal for that. Mallow was never really known for her stellar ability to keep track of time, in fact, she was notorious for being late to practises. Combined with her lack of a flying Pokemon, their expectations for Mallow arriving on time were in the negatives.

"Okay, but she's never usually this late" Lillie attempted to defend her friend, even though she was over an hour and a half late now. "I'm sure she'll arrive soon" 

"Hm" Serena raised an eyebrow, skeptical. 

"I'll send her a message" Peonia suggested, and began typing on her phone at record breaking speed. 

Just as she was about to press send on the message simply reading 'Where the fuck are you?', Mallow burst through the door, panting heavily.

"I'm _* pant*_ ...here" She looked incredibly frazzled, her green hair sticking out all over the place. She was sweating furiously, having clearly sprinted her way to the elite four building. 

"About time!" Leaf commented. "Where have you even been?" 

"The restaurant..." she panted "My dad wouldn't let me leave" 

The way she phrased that set off a few alarm bells in Lillie's head. Combined with the conversation from yesterday, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something bad going on that she wasn't aware of.

She made a mental note to keep an eye on Mallow, before zoning back into the conversation. 

"Well, at least you're here now" May smiled. "So, Lance and Koga, this is the idol group!" 

"You already know us from over text, but I guess now you know us even more" Leaf smiled, although Lance detected a little bit of nervousness in it. 

Mallow slid into the seat next to Lillie, which helped alleviate her anxiety slightly. Having Mallow around was always reassuring, especially when there's a new person that she has only ever seen in the news or heard about from Janine. 

"So what are we doing today?" Mallow asked, breaking the slight silence that threatened to settle in the room. 

"Dunno, do you want to split into two groups?" Serena suggested. "Music people can do their thing, while the rest of us brainstorm ideas?" 

"Uhhhh...." Mallow looked around the room for any traces of hesitation, when she found none, she nodded. "I don't have my bass with me, but I can still help out"

The group came to a conclusion. Iris, May, Marnie and Mallow would work on music scores, while the rest of them would work on the rest. Koga decided to supervise the music group, and although he had no experience in music, he felt it would be nice to watch.

The five took seats at the table, while the four took the corner. Lance took a seat next to Lillie, noting how the girl tensed up. 

"What are you working on?" He asked in his usual loud voice, Lillie flinched at that, and he mentally kicked himself for making a girl who was clearly anxious about his presence even more uncomfortable.

"Oh, it's just ideas for songs." Lillie all but murmured. "It's nothing major though, you should probably go watch someone else..." 

"It's alright, this seems really cool anyways" he wasn't sure if he should chance sneaking a peek at what she had written, but eventually he decided against it. Lillie clearly had her boundaries, and he didn't want to break them.

"Ah, thanks." Lillie went back to scribbling in the notebook, and Lance noted how her posture was hunched forwards, as if protecting herself. She had an arm resting on the notebook, most likely to obscure its contents to Lance.

Unsure of how to progress, Lance decided that small talk would be the way to go. "So... how's your day been?"

He kicked himself again when he realised how weird that sounded, Lillie must have thought so too, as her posture became even more defensive. 

"Umm." Lillie began, feeling her mouth go completely dry. It reminded her of introducing herself the first day of class, awkward, like she wanted to melt into the ground. "Alright, I guess"

"Do anything interesting?"

"Uhh" Lillie began to shake slightly. Lance wondered if he was always this bad at small talk, or if he was just bad at dealing with anxiety. "I-I went to the trainer school, a-and then I went home" 

This wasn't working. Lillie was just getting more tense by the second. At this rate, she would completely close off to him. He cursed his inexperience at talking to people who didn't like to talk much, as champion, he had pleanty of experience with making conversation with loud and confident trainers. This was clearly not the same.

Feeling a lull in the conversation, Lillie felt obligated to say something "S-sorry." 

Like an ant to honey, Serena suddenly appeared by Lillie's side. She slid into the seat next to her, and began to gently stroke her arm. "It's alright, you didn't do anything wrong"

This really wasn't ideal. Lance put a little girl on the verge of crying, and now the person comforting her is one of the only people in the room that don't seem comfortable with him either. Because of course it would play out like that.

Serena seemed to have entered full protective mode, as she narrowed her eyes at Lance when he attempted to smile at her. She quickly went back to comforting Lillie. 

"Anyway, I'd love your opinion on the new outfits I sketched. They're a bit longer this time, because I think Janine needs a break" Serena slid her notebook over to Lillie. Lance couldn't quite see what was in it from where he was sitting, but it looked like a sketch of a line of dresses. 

"Wow, they're really cool" Lillie admired, the stammer from her voice completely gone, even though she was still shaking slightly. "I never under how you can come up with all these designs" 

"Ah, it's just practice" Serena felt herself flush slightly at the compliment. "And I was inspired by the beaches that you have in Alola, the beaches in Kalos are full of rocks, and the water is always freezing" 

"I guess Alola has the best beaches then?" Lillie smiled weakly. 

Lance felt somewhat awkward. Unsure of how to progress, he just asked "Can I see?" 

He felt Serena's judgmental eyes on him, and he briefly wondered how a 13 year old girl could look so intimidating. "Knock yourself out" the book was slid across the table towards him, he stopped it with his hand. 

He looked over the sketches, noting how they looked professional. Definitely not something he would have expected from a 13 year old. "You drew these?"

"Yeah. What about it?" Serena snapped, still defensive. 

"They're really good. You're a brilliant artist" Lance complimented, sliding the sketchbook back. Serena flushed a light shade of pink before she could stop herself. 

"Well, it's nothing." Serena turned her head away from Lance. It reminded him of a different girl that was prideful and somewhat bitter. He recalled how all Leaf needed was a bit of encouragement, and he wondered if the same approach would work here.

It certainly seemed to be working, as Serena seemed somewhat flattered by the compliment, even if she wouldn't admit that. Lillie smiled a little at seeing her friend act so aloof. 

He decided to stick with the flattery route. "I mean it, I never would have expected it from someone like you" 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Serena furrowed her eyebrows. 

_Shit, shit, shit. Retreat, retreat_ "No, I don't mean it like that. I just mean that I never expected someone as young as you to be so talented" 

That seemed to work, as Serena's retort caught in her throat. She opened her mouth anyway, but no sound came out. Eventually, she closed her mouth with a slightly defeated look. 

_Nice save_

"Thanks, I guess" She blushed furiously, refusing to make eye contact with Lance. 

Okay, Serena was warming up. Not great, but a start. 

"You're so modest" Lillie giggled slightly. "You're a really good artist, you know that? Right?"

"Stooooop" Serena protested, blush only getting worse the longer the conversation went on. Lillie chuckled, and so did Lance.

Over by the music corner, the girls threw ideas at each other.

"If we want it to be sadder, we should put more piano into it." Mallow suggested. "I think May would like the challenge as well" 

"True, but it might clash with the drums if we decide to use them" May noted. 

Koga watched as they bounced ideas off each other, May scribbling down the ones that they agreed upon into the notepad. He noted how Mallow and May seemed the most logical of the four, while Iris provided her own spunk.

Iris was certainly energetic, but Koga couldn't deny that she was equally skilled when it came to musical knowledge. 

There was only one girl that really stood out to him. Marnie hadn't said a word since he had come over, and he was beginning to get concerned. 

"..." She didn't say a word as the other three continued to discuss possible beats and melodies, instead she looked down at the guitar in front of her, suspended to her body with a strap that wrapped around her. 

After around ten minutes of silence while the other girls talked, Koga decided to say something. 

"I can't really contribute much, as I am not too knowledgeable in music. But I believe Marnie hasn't said much about the matter?" He raised en eyebrow, briefly wondering if the girl was just shy.

"Oh, Marnie sometimes doesn't talk around new people." Mallow smiled. "You get used to it, Don't worry though, she'll warm up eventually"

Koga looked back at Marnie, who's face displayed no expression. Not nervousness, not anger, or even confusion. She just looked.... blank. 

It reminded him of someone.

"Are you like Red?" Koga asked gently, Marnie shrugged. "Red is selectively mute."

Marnie shrugged again, before immediately going back to fiddling at her guitar.

She didn't seem nervous... right? She didn't seem much of anything, but she had to be feeling something. Perhaps it was anxiety, or maybe she just preferred not speaking. 

Koga wasn't one to judge, if Marnie needed some time to warm up to him, he didn't blame her. He didn't exactly look the most welcoming, quite the opposite actually. He was no stranger to scaring away people with his harsh looks, but he just hoped that wasn't the case here.

Either way, it was impossible to tell, since she didn't express at all. 

Noting that she didn't seem to be paying attention to the other girls' conversation, Koga decided to try talking to her directly. 

"So, you're from Galar, correct?" He asked, trying to minimise the volume of his voice. He couldn't use the voice he used for challengers here, it would just scare her more.

Marnie nodded. "What's it like?" 

Marnie stared at him blankly, not making an effort to open her mouth. Ah, yes. She couldn't exactly nod to a question like that. 

"Sorry, I should be more specific in my questions." He apologised, Marnie nodded at that. "Is the wild area really as good as people make it out to be?"  
Another nod as she traced her fingers down the glossy surface of her instrument. "Are there lots of poison types there?" 

_nod_

"Do you like poison types? I personally prefer them. You may have heard that I specialise in them" 

"... I've heard" She said softly. 

_Did she just talk?_

He decided not to address the fact that she had just spoke for the first time around him, and instead he focused on the response she gave. "I suppose the Kanto elite four are known by a lot of trainers, aren't they?"

"Mhm." Marnie hummed in approval. It wasn't speaking, per se, but it was certainly an improvement. Improvements were not something Koga would scoff at, no matter now small they were.

"I have a lot of stories about how I came to have the team I currently have; would you care to hear them?" Koga asked. He presumed the way forward would be him doing most of the talking, even if it wasn't something he was used to. 

Marnie nodded, and Koga briefly thought about a story that would be good to tell in this situation. It couldn't be too long, but it also had to be long enough so that he could continue the conversation. 

"Ah yes. The story of how I caught my weezing." He settled on that story, it wasn't too long, and it was one that Janine probably knew off by heart. "A very long time ago, when I was a lot younger than I am now, I went out to search for honey....." 

He began telling the story, Marnie nodding along to prove she was paying attention. 

"I encountered a certain Koffing, and I could tell it was injured" He continued "I remembered my mother warning me that Koffings of that level often have self destruct on their move set, so I was supposed to be wary, however....." 

He continued telling the story, adding flair and prose to increase the dramatic tension of certain plot points. It vaguely reminded him of when he would read Janine bedtime stories before tucking her in. He hadn't done that in a long time, but telling this story made him strangely nostalgic.

"And that's how I ended up with my Weezing" He finished after a long while. He noted how the other girls who were previously engaged in their talk about music now crowded around him as though he was a pre school teacher telling the class a story.

"Wow!" Iris gushed "That's so cool!" 

"..."

"You're good at telling stories" May admired, flashing a wide smile. 

"...."

"Thanks..." Marnie met Koga's eyes, and for the first time, smiled slightly. It wasn't much. Just a slight curl of her lips, but Koga appreciated the gesture.

"No problem, kid"

\-------------------------------------------------

"Are you alright?" Lillie asked cautiously.

The reflection of the moonlight on the lake was something that Mallow always liked about water. Even though she specialised in grass types, she couldn't deny that water had something especially alluring about it. It was almost mesmerising. 

Of course, the bittersweet aftertaste of the idol meet was a hard one to get rid of, but the knowledge that she would be going home with Lillie was enough to stop her from thinking along those lines, at least for a while.

"Yeah. I'm alright" Mallow knelt down on her knees, so that she was closer to the water. She allowed her fingers to dip into the lake, she watched as the ripples of the water dispersed around where her fingers were. 

"You don't really seem alright" Lillie observed, smiling weakly. "Is it about Koga and Lance?" 

"Nah, it's nothing to do with that" Mallow swirled her wrist around, creating a small vortex of water. "I don't really mind, they're just trying to support their daughters, and I think that's cool" 

"Lance doesn't have a daughter?" Lillie raised an eyebrow, Mallow giggled in response.

"Oh come on, he's pretty much Leaf's dad at this point" she retracted her hand from the water, shaking it so that the droplets splattered out along the waters surface. "Like how Kukui's basically your dad, but you won't say that"

"Kukui isn't my dad!" Lillie protested, a small blush rising to her face.

"Whatever you say" Mallow rolled her eyes, but grinned to show it was all in good spirits. "It's not a bad thing. I'd love to have a dad like that" 

"Ah." Lillie was able to pick up the subtext, so she didn't say anything further.

"..."

"..."

"Umm" Lillie cautiously began. "Is that's what's bothering you?" 

"Is it that obvious?" Mallow sighed, defeated. While it was true she didn't exactly feel the best, it was something she could manage. Lillie nodded wordlessly.

"I'm just exhausted." She closed her eyes, breathing in the crisp night air. "Every single day I have to work the restaurant, I have to put up with the hours he forces on me. Then when I go to school, it's just...." 

Another short pause that Lillie knew she shouldn't fill.

"I have to be happy, all the fucking time." She admitted, opening her eyes so that she could make eye contact with Lillie. "I can't say how I feel, ever" 

"Well, you could talk to the idol group about it?" Lillie suggested. "I'm sure they'd be able to come up with a solution."  
"It's a nice thought, but I don't want to drag any of the members into my personal mess" The chirping of a flock of wingulls as they flew overhead filled the air. Both of the girls looked up as the flock flew past, white wings gently flapping to keep them airborne.

The flock passed overhead, disappearing into the distant horizon. "They just had to deal with a lot, the whole Janine and Leaf saga isn't exactly minor, is it? The last thing I'd want to do is make this all about me." 

"But you aren't." Lillie explained gently. "You're struggling, and you need help. It isn't selfish to talk about your problems, and just because someone else has problems doesn't mean yours are any less important" 

If this was anyone else, Lillie would have placed a hand on top of their own, or established some kind of physical contact, but this was Mallow. From the years of being friends with her, Lillie had picked up on the way she recoiled when people touched her, even when it was from other members of the idol group. 

She knew that Mallow didn't like physical contact, and she respected that. Instead she knew that listening well and respecting her wishes was they way to go.

Lillie sidled closer, but was cautious not to let her hand brush against any part of her. She smoothed down her dress, careful to keep half a meter of distance between them as she sat down next to her. 

"It still feels like I'm being selfish" Mallow admitted. "Janine has gone through hell, and we know she isn't alright. She needs our support right now, and I don't want to take that away from her" 

"You're not being selfish." Lillie smiled gently. "You need help, and you're asking your friends for advice. That isn't selfish."

"Still..." Mallow protested. "I just wish I didn't have to be like this." 

"Like what?" 

"I dunno, like this!" Mallow made a vague gesture with her hand, which was still slightly damp from the lake. "Like, being exhausted all the time" 

"Umm, I'm not sure, but you might be depressed?" 

"What?" Mallow recoiled at the suggestion, sending Lillie a look between confused and irritated. "I don't have depression" 

"Well, I'm not a professional or anything" Lillie held up her hands defensively. "It just kind of sounds like you have some of the symptoms, that's all"

"Nah. I'm not depressed" Mallow fiddled with a stray piece of hair that had fallen from her bunches. "I just... I dunno. I guess I just struggle feeling happy" 

"And that's alright" Lillie reassured, still taking care not to touch her. If there was one thing that would alienate Mallow even more than the comment she just made, it would be initiating contact.  
"If you say it's not depression, then I'll believe you." 

"Thanks." 

"..."

"So, do you still like performing?" Lillie asked cautiously, a part of her not wanting to hear the answer, but she also needed to know. "And don't lie about this."

"Yeah, I honestly do" Mallow looked out across the wide lake. "That's a promise. I wouldn't lie to you about something like that" 

"You better not." Lillie joked. She found it a lot easier to be open with Mallow, if she had been anywhere else, she never would have even considered making such a comment. Although, the idol group was certainly good at getting her to open up.

"Promise." Mallow insisted. "What's that old saying? Cross my heart and hope to die?" 

"Something like that." Lillie frowned as she looked across the rippling water. 

"You ever just...." Mallow began, but she cut herself off. "Nah, it's alright. Forget it." 

"What were you going to say?" Lillie asked, turning to meet Mallow's eyes, which were still fixed firmly on the lake.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it" Mallow brushed it off with a smile, but Lillie was unconvinced. 

"It can't be nothing." She inched even closer, still maintaining a safe distance between them, but close enough to come across as comforting instead of invasive. 

"It isn't important." She sighed, dipping the tips of her fingers back in the water. It rippled around her rhythmically. "Just another stray thought"

"If you're absolutely sure?" Lillie dropped the subject reluctantly, leaving the silence to settle on the two of them once again. The breeze that blew back their hair gently was enough of a substitute for the conversation anyway.

"..."

"..."

They could have stayed there forever, but they knew that they had to go home eventually. Even if Mallow despised it, it was one of the many unavoidable things in her life. 

"I wish...." Mallow paused for a moment. "I wish I could just be... alright." 

"You will be." Lillie smiled at her comfortingly, even though she wasn't sure herself. Mallow needed help, but she wouldn't admit that, so the only thing Lillie could do in that moment was reassure her that things would be okay. 

"Thanks..." Mallow met Lillie's eyes once more. "When you say it, it feels like it's true"

"If you don't give up, you can only get better, right?" She asked rhetorically. "It's not like you to give up, so that means things will get better." 

Mallow chuckled quietly, a warm sound against the cold night air. Lillie felt a small smile pull at the sides of her mouth. "You definitely have a way of putting things that inspires people." She looked back at the lake, watching as the small waves lapped against the grass. "I guess that's why you're the one that writes the lyrics" 

"I.... guess so." Lillie blushed slightly, disguised by the darkness of the night. 

For a brief moment, Mallow believed that Lillie was right, that things could get better if she gave them time. The hope that things would improve..... it was certainly a foreign feeling to her, but she found herself liking the warmth of it.

"I wish I could stay here forever" Mallow spoke the words that both of them thought, letting them escape into the crisp air. "I'd never have to go back to that stupid restaurant" 

"I wish I could stay here forever as well" Lillie whispered, the words only slightly louder than the ripples of the water. "It would be nice, wouldn't it?" 

"He only runs the restaurant because it's what my mother wanted." Mallow sighed, not really listening to what Lillie said. "I don't think he likes it either" 

"Ah...."

"..."

"Do you miss her?" 

"..." Mallow curled her legs up towards herself, not saying a word. Her muscles tended, and Lillie realised that she may have overstepped her boundaries. She backed off instinctively.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked that" She apologised frantically, noting how Mallow didn't look at her, instead focusing on the lake. 

"Yeah. I miss her sometimes" Mallow muttered, "But, I just don't know what she'd say about all this. About the idol group... about my dad.... and about me. Something tells me she wouldn't really approve of who I've become" 

Lillie didn't know what to say to that, so she settled with silence. 

"I think I'll always miss her." Mallow relaxed her muscles a little. "But, it's better to look towards the future, isn't it?" 

"I... guess?" Lillie half-asked, still unsure of what she should say. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought this up." 

"It's alright." Mallow weakly smiled. "You're a good listener, so I don't really mind talking to you about this." 

"Oh, thank you." 

"..."

"Just, don't talk to the rest of the group, about any of this. Please?" Mallow looked at her with a look of sorrow. "About any of this. The restaurant, my father.... any of it" 

"Are you sure? I think you might feel better if you talked to them about this?" Lillie suggested shyly. Mallow shook her head. 

"No, I'm not ready yet." She held out her hand, the way one would initiate a handshake. "What's said at the lake stays at the lake?" 

Lillie reluctantly took Mallow's hand after a second of hesitation, she shook it firmly. "What's said at the lake stays at the lake" 

\-------------------------------------------------

"Day off?" Her dad repeated, drawling the words out as though they were hard for him to understand. The steely glare he sent Mallow didn't go unnoticed.

It had been another night with no sleep, getting home from the idol group late only meant that Mallow had even less time to do her chores before the sun rose. 

Unfortunately, going to school with no sleep for the second night in a row had its consequences. Words on the board looked like nothing but fancy loops of ink, spoken words didn't fare much better, as a lot of them blended into a symphony of sound, completely indiscernible. 

_"... Come up.... Write.... Answer... board?" Kukui asked something along those lines, yet she was only able to catch those few words._

_She didn't even know what the question was, but she knew it was something about powder moves. So, not wanting to seem suspicious, she got to her feet and began to walk towards the board._

_Each step was an ordeal, the fatigue only becoming more and more obvious with each step she took. Her classmates noticed this as well, it was difficult not to. When the normally energetic girl started walking like a decaying zombie, they began to wonder if something was up._

_Eventually, she reached the blackboard after what felt like an eternity. Kukui didn't hand her the chalk, however, and instead gave her a funny look._

_"Are you.... feeling alright?" He asked, Mallow just nodded, not trusting whatever words that were going to come out of her mouth not to be a jumbled mess of sounds._

_Kukui reluctantly held out the chalk to her, which she took with shaking hands._

_She looked at the board, still unable to read what it said. The chalk in her hand hovered an inch above the blackboard, not quite touching it. It was then she realised she had absolutely no clue what she was doing._

_The next moments were a blur. More so than the rest of the day._

_The world shifted beneath her, and she felt the exhaustion take hold of her frail body._

_Everything was a blur of colours and mixed voices as she fell. She briefly registered that a pair of strong arms caught her before she hit the floor, but the rest of it was nothing more than unfocused colours and sounds._

_Mallow had no idea how much time had passed before she woke up, but she felt just as exhausted as before._

_"Should we... Ambulance?" She picked up a few words from an unknown person._

_"Breathing.... Should be fine" She hesitantly shifted slightly, simply shifting her weight felt more like running a marathon._

_A mess of half formed sounds left her mouth as she struggled to sit up, seeing the concerned faces of her classmates all around her._

_"Hey Mallow" Kukui said, speaking in a very low tone. "Are you alright?"_

_"Mmph, what happened?" She asked, still not sure of the events that transpired, or if any of this was real at all. It certainly would make sense to chalk this up as a strange dream._

_"You collapsed" Gladion said flatly, but there was a hint of concern in his voice. "No offence, but you look like a mess"_

_"Ah." Mallow attempted to smile, only managing a tiny curl of her lips. "I guess I did"_

_"I think you should go home early today." Kukui suggested, he rested a hand on her shoulder, which she was uncomfortable with, but didn't even have the energy to push him away. "Get some rest, yeah?"_

_"O-okay"_

__

"Sorry, I'm just really tired today." Mallow apologised, feeling her muscles tense. 

A deafening silence. Her dad stared down at her with a look of disapproval. Mallow could feel her blood begin to run cold. She shouldn't be scared. This was just her dad. He wouldn't do anything to her. Right?

"..." Mallow began to doubt herself as a minute passed, the only sound being the ticking of the clock on the wall. 

_tick_

_tick_

_tick_

"..." Still, her father didn't say a word. He simply narrowed his eyes at her, as though she was a puzzle he was doing his best to figure out. His brows were still furrowed. It felt like the moment of calm before the storm.

After what felt like an eternity, he spoke. 

"So you want a day off, do you?" Mallow did not like the tone he used, sounding more like a librarian reading off a long list of names than her father. She couldn't shake the chill that went down her spine. 

"Yes, Kukui told me I needed to rest, so I thought I could just....." Mallow trailed off under her fathers gaze. 

"And I say that you're fine, so why should you have a day off?" He asked, more bite to his words. He seemed to loom over Mallow. 

"Dad, I'm tired." Mallow sighed "It's just one day, I can work overtime tomorrow to make up for it" 

"So you trust the judgment of some man who can't even wear a shirt over the judgment of your own father?" He asked, taking a step closer to her that she wasn't at all comfortable with.

"I never said that." She said calmly, not wanting to provoke him further, or give him another excuse to be angry. "I promise I'll work even harder tomorrow" 

Her attempts to reason fell on deaf ears. "So you're going to leave me to run the restaurant alone? Are you really going to leave me to do this all alone?"

Mallow stepped back a little, but her dad closed the distance instantly. "So you're going to leave your poor father to do all the work while you have a nice little nap in your bed? That sounds nice, doesn't it?" He snarled. 

"I can make up the work tomorrow, I promise!" Mallow pleaded, taking a final step back so that her back was pressed flush against the wall. 

"That's what you always say, isn't it?" Mallow tensed as he loomed over him, his presence shattering whatever was left of Mallow's sense of safety. "You'll say that tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. Won't you?" 

Mallow could see his chest rising and falling from his breathing, he was so close. It was suffocating. "No! I promise I won't!" 

He put a strong hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch. She could feel the muscles of his fingers tense around her arm. She wanted to scream, to run, to cry, to do anything. 

But she was frozen. 

She couldn't move. 

Then he said something. 

He said something that he knew would hurt Mallow. 

The sad thing about having arguing with a father, is that they know everything about you. They know how to get into your head and fuck with you on levels you didn't even know were possible. 

When father's want to hurt, they know how to do it in the worst way possible. They know how to say things that hurt you to the core. They could bite their tongues if they wanted, they could just keep silent if they wanted.

But when fathers want to hurt, they hurt badly.

Mallow violently pulled herself from her fathers grasp, and she ran out the front door of the restaurant. She couldn't stop tears flowing down her cheeks, and she couldn't stop running. 

She just wanted to be away, to get away from him. 

She kept running, and kept running. The words wouldn't stop ringing in her head. 

She had no idea when she stopped running, but when she did, she promptly collapsed onto the dirt, whatever remains of energy she had promptly fading away.  
\-------------------------------------------------

~Finally some people with common sense~ 

Marshmallow: Haha  
Marshmallow: Crying is fun.

WaterLily: What happened?

TheRealDragonMaster: Why are you crying (・Д・)ノ

Marshmallow: I stormed out  
Marshmallow: He said something 

WaterLily: Oh.  
WaterLily: He didn't go there, did he?

Marshmallow: He did  
Marshmallow: I ran off.  
Marshmallow: I couldn't take it.

WaterLily: I'm so sorry.  
WaterLily: He is a terrible person for doing that.

MayIHaveYourAttention: What's going on?

SereineGrace: ?

DropDeadGorgeous: Yeah, I'm also confused  
DropDeadGorgeous: You alright, Mallow?

Marshmallow: Sorry  
Marshmallow: I shouldn't have ran off  
Marshmallow: This is my fault.

WaterLily: It is not your fault.  
WaterLily: Please don't think that ): 

SereineGrace: Can someone fill me in?

RoseMarnie: What's going on?

Marshmallow: I can't go back  
Marshmallow: It'll happen again

WaterLily: Um, I can't disagree with you there  
WaterLily: Where are you right now?

Marshmallow: I don't know.  
Marshmallow: I don't even know.

WaterLily: What can you see?  
WaterLily: What island are you on?

Marshmallow: I don't know  
Marshmallow: It's all a blur  
Marshmallow: I can't breathe 

ToxicSpikes: Mallow?  
ToxicSpikes: You need to listen to Lillie

LeafMeAlone: Uh  
LeafMeAlone: Should I get Koga/Lance?

WaterLily: Please. 

LeafMeAlone: On it.

Marshmallow: I don't know where I am  
Marshmallow: I don't know what I'm doing.  
Marshmallow: I shouldn't have left.

WaterLily: Mallow, please listen to me.  
WaterLily: You had every right to leave  
WaterLily: He's not a good person, he shouldn't have treated you like that. 

Marshmallow: I'm shaking  
Marshmallow: I don't know what I'm doing.

MayIHaveYourAttention: You need to breathe.

Marshmallow: I can't.  
Marshmallow: I can't  
Marshmallow: I can't 

MayIHaveYourAttention: What can you see?

Marshmallow: I don't know!  
Marshmallow: Nothing feels real anymore

FlyingTypeMaster: Mallow.  
FlyingTypeMaster: Listen to me.  
FlyingTypeMaster: You're going to be okay

Marshmallow: I won't.  
Marshmallow: I have to go back

FlyingTypeMaster: It's alright.  
FlyingTypeMaster: We'll figure something out.

Marshmallow: He'll make me go back  
Marshmallow: Everything's so fuzzy

FlyingTypeMaster: I promise  
FlyingTypeMaster: Everything will be okay  
FlyingTypeMaster: All of us are here for you  
FlyingTypeMaster: We won't let anything happen to you.

Marshmallow: You're just saying that

FlyingTypeMaster: We're not.  
FlyingTypeMaster: We all care for you, and none of us are going to let you get hurt  
FlyingTypeMaster: We will all be here for you, always

Marshmallow: Okay.  
Marshmallow: I still feel weird 

FlyingTypeMaster: Can you name 5 things you can see?

Marshmallow: Um  
Marshmallow: There's grass, and trees  
Marshmallow: There's a stone gate thing? It has pink on it  
Marshmallow: There are two stone pillar/statue things  
Marshmallow: And there's a cave

WaterLily: I think I know where you're talking about

FlyingTypeMaster: Good job!  
FlyingTypeMaster: what about 4 things you can touch

Marshmallow: The grass. It's smooth  
Marshmallow: The dirt, the bushes and the stone pillars

FlyingTypeMaster: Brilliant!  
FlyingTypeMaster: 3 Things you can hear?

Marshmallow: There's Pikipek  
Marshmallow: and the leaves are rustling.  
Marshmallow: And I can hear myself typing

FlyingTypeMaster: Great job!  
FlyingTypeMaster: 2 things you can smell?

Marshmallow: There's a sweet scent nearby  
Marshmallow: And, I can smell some of the energy roots that are growing in the forest

FlyingTypeMaster: You're doing amazingly  
FlyingTypeMaster: Can you tell us how you feel now?

Marshmallow: weird  
Marshmallow: It's like I've been hit with sleep powder  
Marshmallow: I don't know.

NinjaFather: You have a bounsweet, correct?

Marshmallow: Yeah, I always carry her pokeball with me  
Marshmallow: But, I left Fomantis at the restaurant  
Marshmallow: He's going to take her away  
Marshmallow: I'll never see her again. I have to go back.

NinjaFather: Do not worry about that for now.  
NinjaFather: Can you release your bounsweet from her ball?

Marshmallow: I guess?

NinjaFather: Can you get her to use sweet scent?

Marshmallow: Okay.

NinjaFather: How does that feel?

Marshmallow: Better  
Marshmallow: A lot better

NinjaFather: Can you take deep breaths?  
NinjaFather: In for 3, out for 3 

Marshmallow: Alright

FlyingTypeMaster: How do you feel now?

Marshmallow: A lot better  
Marshmallow: Thanks

NinjaFather: Thanks are not necessarily  
NinjaFather: Can you tell us where you are?

Marshmallow: I still don't know  
Marshmallow: Somewhere on Akala 

WaterLily: I think I know  
WaterLily: Mallow, are you at the ruins of life?

Marshmallow: I don't know what that is

WaterLily: Is there a cave with pink around the entrance?

Marshmallow: Yeah

WaterLily: Alright. Stay put.  
WaterLily: I'm on my way. 

Marshmallow: I can't really go anywhere.

Marshmallow went offline 

LeafMeAlone: Okay, can someone please fill me in?

RoseMarnie: Me as well

SereineGrace: I'm also curious.

WaterLily: It's kind of complicated  
WaterLily: I'll give you the longer version later, but to summarise  
WaterLily: Her father isn't a great person

MayIHaveYourAttention: Ah.

DropDeadGorgeous: Oh. 

TheRealDragonMaster: O:<

WaterLily: I've known about this situation for a while  
WaterLily: she told me not to talk about this with the group  
WaterLily: I didn't know the extent of it. 

FlyingTypeMaster: What did he do?

WaterLily: I think this is something I have to talk about when I have more time  
WaterLily: I'm on my way to Akala right now.  
WaterLily: Togekiss is very fast

NinjaFather: Okay, please make sure she is safe, alright?

WaterLily: Will do (: 

WaterLily went offline. 

\-------------------------------------------------

~Lance~

Lillie: Okay, I don't really know what to do  
Lillie: I'm not good at comforting people ( ´Д`)

Lance: It's alright, just don't panic  
Lance: Reassure her that things will be alright  
Lance: Try keep her grounded

Lillie: What does that mean?

Lance: Keep her in the present, try not to let her fixate on memories  
Lance: She's clearly not alright, so I'm going to ask that you try keep her calm for now  
Lance: Does she have somewhere else to go?

Lillie: I really don't know  
Lillie: I could take her to Iki town for a bit?  
Lillie: Hala or Kukui could talk to her?

Lance: Sounds good  
Lance: It might be better for her to be around other people

Lillie: Alright.  
Lillie: What do I even say to her?

Lance: Tell her that it's alright, let her cry if she needs to  
Lance: Does it help her to be alone?

Lillie: No, she just gets really worked up if she's left alone  
Lillie: She needs people to be with her 

Lance: I don't know if you can handle her by yourself, so try get her somewhere safe ASAP  
Lance: Tell her you're taking her to Iki town, don't let her refuse  
Lance: Think you can do that?

Lillie: Alright, what do I do once she's there? 

Lance: Is there an adult that you can get to watch her/calm her down for a bit. 

Lillie: I would say Kukui but she asked me to keep him out of it ): 

Lance: I know this sounds invasive, but should you trust her on that?  
Lance: If she needs to be with people, and you know Kukui is the best person for it, shouldn't you do it anyway?  
Lance: It's for her own good

Lillie: I don't feel good about this T-T

Lance: You might not, but she'll see that it's for the better  
Lance: Is there a better place she could go?

Lillie: No  
Lillie: she can't stay with her dad  
Lillie: The best place for her is with Kukui

Lance: Then get her to talk to Kukui  
Lance: Take her to Iki town, and once she calms down a bit try get Kukui to talk to her

Lillie: Alright  
Lillie: I'm going to take her to Hala

Lance: Alright, sounds like a good idea  
Lance: Once she's calmer, you can get her to talk to Kukui

Lillie: Okay, I'm at the ruins of life  
Lillie: I'll update you afterwards (:

Lance: Alright, take care of the kid

Lillie: I will (: 

Lillie slipped the phone back into her pocket as togekiss approached the clearing. She saw a familiar pair of green bunches, falling down her back like two vines. She was leaning on her knees, face clearly red from crying.

Togekiss lowered down to the ground, allowing his trainer to jump from his back. Lillie cautiously approached Mallow, not sure how to start a conversation.

"Tapu Lele is supposed to be able to heal any injury with its scales." Mallow began, not even looking up at Lillie. "I wonder if they could heal me"

"Mallow?" Lillie cautiously approached her, leaning down so that she could talk to her a little more comfortably. "Are... you alright?"

"But I guess they also say that humans get hurt if they touch too many of the scales" Mallow continued as if Lillie wasn't even there. "I guess that would be a good thing, I've already been hurt a lot as it is" 

"Mallow?" Lillie repeated, kneeling down so that she assumed the same position as Mallow. 

"Maybe I shouldn't be here" Mallow continued to not acknowledge Lillie, talking to herself more than anything. "Maybe it would be better for everyone if I just disappeared. It's what my mother did, anyways. Maybe I could see her again"

"Mallow!" Lillie disregarded any of her previous doubts and firmly planted her hands on Mallow's shoulders, shaking her slightly. She felt how the muscles tensed at the contact, but she didn't have time to doubt herself as she yelled."Snap out of it! You deserve to be here, and you deserve help" 

There was a silence, both girls were frozen on the spot. Lillie didn't move her hands from Mallow's shoulders, even though she trembled. The soft breeze that blew through the clearing allowed the tendrils of their hair to flutter gently. 

Only once Lillie saw the tears forming in the corner of Mallow's eyes did she realise what she had done.

After at least half a minute, Lillie sharply retracted her hands. "I'm so, so, so sorry" She apologised, looking down at her hands as if they had betrayed her. 

"No, it's alright." Mallow sniffed slightly. "I think I needed to hear that, anyway" 

"..."

Whatever half-baked plan that Lillie had thought up was promptly thrown out the window, she didn't know what to do, or what to say. There wasn't a combination of words that could be strung together to nullify what either party felt, and Lillie certainly couldn't find them. 

"Are you alright?" She asked gently, Mallow shook her head.

"No..." She trembled as she spoke. "I'm really not, and I can't even pretend that I am." 

It hurt Lillie to see how fragile she looked, how it felt as though a single misspoken word or awry glance could shatter the girl like glass. She hated seeing her this way.

"He was right, you know?" Mallow whispered. "If my mother was here, she'd be disappointed in how I turned out."

"Did he say that to you?" Lillie verified, and felt her heart break when Mallow nodded. She could only imagine the horrible memories that he brought up, the terrible feelings that Mallow had worked so hard to defeat.

"He told me that I'm a disgrace." Mallow began to choke up "That if mother was here, she would be ashamed of what I've become" 

"Don't you dare ever think that." Lillie met her eyes with a determined glare. "He knows nothing, he just wants to put you down so you'll go back to him" 

"It worked, didn't it?" Mallow spoke through gritted teeth. "I feel useless, and I know I have to go back to him. It's not fair." 

"You don't have to go back" Lillie reassured. "I don't think I could let you go back, and I don't think any of the group, or Lance, or Koga, would let you go back there after tonight." She spoke as softly as she could.

"I'm sorry..." Mallow whispered, fully breaking down. She adjusted her position so she could bury her face in her legs, attempting to hide the waves of tears that wouldn't stop. 

"Don't apologise." Lillie cautiously shuffled closer, getting closer than she ever had before. Mallow tensed up a little, but Lillie didn't back away this time. "You've gone through so much, it's alright to admit that you need help" 

"I can't go back..." she whispered. 

"I know you can't, and I won't make you." Lillie fixed her light green eyes onto Mallow's darker ones. "I didn't go back to Lusamine, so you shouldn't have to go back to him"

Mallow froze when she heard those words. Lillie never talked about Lusamine, even though everyone in the trainer school was very aware of what went on between them, they had universally agreed to keep it quiet. Since bringing up a domestic abuser to a girl with anxiety was never really something any of them wanted to do. 

"But that's different" Mallow protested weakly. "Lusamine hurt you, she really hurt you." 

"And your dad hasn't hurt you?" Lillie retorted. "I don't quite see how the situations are different" 

"..."

Lillie sighed. "I don't want to be annoying, but you can't go back there." She shuffled even closer, still taking care not to touch the girl. "It would happen again, and none of us are willing to let that happen" 

"I'm sorry..." Mallow apologised, breathing beginning to speed up. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault" 

"Mallow, listen." Lillie sternly began, but held a certain softness. "Please don't apologise, this is absolutely not your fault, and don't even think about saying that it is" she paused briefly. "You couldn't have done anything differently, this is on him."

Mallow didn't seem to calm down, however, as she only breathed faster and faster, beginning to hyperventilate. Lillie knew she was on the verge of another panic attack, but her mind decided to go completely blank and leave her dumbfounded.

She didn't know what to do as Mallow began to shake even more, fully hyperventilating at this point. Lillie tried to recall what she was supposed to do in this situation.

_I don't know if you can handle her by yourself, so try get her somewhere safe ASAP. Tell her you're taking her to Iki town, don't let her refuse_

Lillie breathed deeply to calm herself, before speaking in the most level tone she could manage. 

"We're going to Iki town, you can't be alone right now" Mallow immediately raised her head from her legs, looking at Lillie with a look of horror. 

"Wait, no, no, no" She protested, seeming to panic even more at Lillie's words. "Hala will be there, Hau will be there, I can't let them see me like this." She protested, green eyes that were full of fear.

"It's going to be okay. You'll feel so much better" She cautiously smiled. "We can't stay here anyway, you know it isn't safe" That bit technically wasn't a lie, as everyone knew that being out alone wasn't a good idea, especially in areas far from towns and inhabited by wild Pokemon.

"I can't..." She whispered, the desperation in her voice blatantly obvious. 

"It's going to be okay" Lillie reassured. "I promise." 

Lillie did something that even surprised herself. 

She reached out tentatively, and placed a hand on top of Mallow's. She flinched, clearly not expecting it. Lillie didn't expect it either, but she didn't retract her hand, even when she realised what she had done.

Mallow seemed to relax slightly, breathing slowing from hyperventilation to a faster than average pace. It wasn't much, but it was an improvement, and Lillie wouldn't deny any sort of improvement. 

"You ready to go?" Mallow whimpered, but nodded nonetheless after a short pause. She didn't want to go, she really didn't want to go, but it's not like she had much of a choice in the matter.

"Mmm" She hummed a protest, but still got to her feet nonetheless, she gripped Lillie's hand firmly, as if she would run away at any moment. Lillie returned the gesture by squeezing her hand back.

They manoeuvred onto the Togekiss, Lillie nearest the front. Mallow reluctantly let go of her hand so that she could hook her arms around her waist. Mallow pressed into Lillie, securing her grip so that she wouldn't fall. 

With that, they took off into the darkened sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh yeah. That happened (・∀・)
> 
> ~Notes~
> 
> Yeah, i know Mallow's father isn't a bad person, but in this AU he is. (Also I'm definitely projecting my own issues onto him but shhhh)
> 
> Intentionally keeping what he said ambiguous, mostly because I don't want to write anything really horrible, even if it's just a character saying it. 
> 
> Also yeah, I do have experience with this issue personally. As someone who didn't have a great dad, I definitely know how even if someone doesn't lay a finger on you, they can mess with you in ways that you didn't even know existed. Because family unfortunately know a lot about you, and they will not hesitate to use that knowledge against you.
> 
> My condolences to anyone going through a similar situation. 
> 
> Anyway, this got kinda dark, huh? At least we have Koga and Lance being the supportive dads the cast need. I promise the next chapter will be more light hearted. ❤️


	6. Changes are hard to face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Song - Happy party train

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW- small panic attack, implied domestic abuse (nothing major, a lot more tame than last chapter)

~Hau~ 

Lillie: Ok so I need your help

Hau: Sure, what for?

Lillie: Can you watch mallow for tonight?

Hau: Sure!  
Hau: What's up with her? 

Lillie: Kinda having a panic attack and I don't know what to do  
Lillie: i can't handle it on my own and she needs to be around people 

Hau: Oh no  
Hau: This sounds serious 

Lillie: It is  
Lillie: Basically she really isn't okay and she needs people to be there for her right now  
Lillie: Also, please don't bring up her father.

Hau: Ok, got it  
Hau: Think she'd be okay if Hala was there?

Lillie: I think so  
Lillie: Also, please don't touch/hug her  
Lillie: You might think it's good, but she really isn't comfortable with it 

Hau: Okay, got it  
Hau: Anything she needs?

Lillie: Somewhere to spend the night  
Lillie: And someone to talk to

Hau: Okay!  
Hau: Where are you?

Lillie: Just outside Iki town  
Lillie: You might be able to see Togekiss

Hau: Ah, okay  
Hau: Yes, I see you  
Hau: Okay, I'll fill Hala in and then I'll come out to get her

Lillie: Thanks for helping (:  
Lillie: Especially this late at night.

Hau: It's no problem ;)  
Hau: I was awake anyways

Lillie: Alright, see you there

\-------------------------------------------------

Lillie crept back into the house, taking care not to step on any of the planks that creaked with practiced ease. Even though she was going to wake up Kukui anyways, months of practice when it came to sneaking out were not something she could erase. 

She debated wether waking Kukui was the best idea. It might be able to wait until morning, couldn't it? It wasn't like Mallow was in a lot of danger at this very moment. 

But Mallow needed her. Mallow needed someone, and Lillie wasn't some miracle worker that could make all her problems miraculously go away. 

Mallow needed help, and that wasn't something that was open for debate. 

But Kukui also needed sleep. 

She walked towards Kukui's room, hearing the faint sound of snoring coming from inside. Lillie's hand hovered over the door, considering the choice she had. It could wait until morning, couldn't it? After all, the professor was tired, and it was 1AM.

Her hand hovered over the door as she debated knocking, but ultimately decided that it could wait. 

"Where have you been?" A deep voice asked, startling Lillie so much that she jumped. She turned towards the source of the sound, seeing the silhouette of a very familiar professor with his arms crossed. 

"Kukui!" Lillie stepped back slightly, meeting the professor's very concerned gaze. "Sorry, I was just going back to bed." 

"Fully clothed?" He raised an eyebrow, and it was at that moment that Lillie realised he wasn't wearing a shirt, which wasn't too unexpected of him. 

"Well... okay." She sighed "Maybe I went somewhere else as well" 

Kukui's gaze softened as he saw Lillie begin to shake. "I heard you sneaking out a while ago, I couldn't get back to sleep after that" 

_How did you only hear me sneaking out tonight and not the hundreds of other times I've snuck out?_

"Ah...." Lillie fiddled with a strand of hair, not really knowing how to respond to that. 

"..." There was a small silence.

"So... are you going to tell me where you went?" He asked gently. 

At least Lillie didn't have to worry about waking him now. This was the perfect time to say everything she needed to..... but. 

She still felt hesitant to talk to Kukui, since Mallow said she didn't want anyone else to know about her problems, Kukui especially. Wasn't this going against what she wanted? Wasn't this betraying her trust?

Mallow would definitely be mad at Lillie if she told Kukui, but...

She couldn't handle this on her own. Even if Mallow insisted she was fine, she needed help, and if Lillie had to make her mad in order to get it, then so be it.

"It's about Mallow" She said, voice strangely determined. Kukui raised an eyebrow at this unfamiliar tone but allowed Lillie to continue. 

"She's not alright." Her voice suddenly went a lot quieter as she sighed. "She had a panic attack after her father yelled at her, she's been getting little to no sleep every night because her dad makes her work stupidly long hours and won't let her take a break" 

Kukui noticed that Lillie seemed to be getting worked up about this, and that this was something he should take seriously. "She's talked to me about this before, but she told me not to intervene, or get anyone else involved. But after tonight... I'd feel horrible if I didn't do anything" 

Kukui unfolded his arms, wrapping one around Lillie's shoulders. "Where is she right now?" He asked. 

"She's at Hala's house with Hau. I didn't know where else to take her, but I didn't know how to deal with a panic attack on my own, so....." Lillie felt a wave of guilt wash over her. She knew that wasn't what Mallow would have wanted, but it was the right thing to do, wasn't it? 

Why couldn't she have been able to help her on her own? She was Mallows friend, wasn't she? And friends should be able to help each other. But instead she handed her off to someone else, she was a terrible person, she was....

"Hey, hey" Kukui pulled Lillie closer when he saw how she was crying. He wrapped his other arms around her to fully hug her. "You're alright now. Mallow will be okay, you did the best thing you could have done for her" 

"But she didn't want me to tell anyone else, but now I'm telling you all this and I let Hau see her when she was having a panic attack even though she told me not to. That's all my fault and I-" Lillie was cut off by Kukui gently shushing her.

"Don't worry about that. She needed help, and you were out of your depth. You have nothing to be ashamed of" He gently stroked her hair with one of his hands, rubbing circles into her back with the other. "You told me, so I can help as well." 

"Sorry...." Lillie instinctively apologised. She knew she shouldn't, but old habits were hard to break. 

"It's alright, don't apologise." Kukui continued to stroke her hair gently, gently rocking her side to side as though she was a toddler. "Do you want to continue this conversation in the kitchen?" 

He felt Lillie nod against his chest, so he slowly released his grip on the young girl, still keeping a single hand resting on her shoulder as they walked to the kitchen. 

Kukui let Lillie sit down on one of the stools as he quickly grabbed a few mugs from the cupboard, he placed the two cups on the counter as he quickly grabbed the ingredients for tapu coco. 

A few squares of chocolate were thrown into a pot along with some milk and a spoonful of a brown powder. The flame on the hob flickered to life with the twist of one of the knobs, and the steady sound of gas burning under the pot filled the room. 

"So, can you tell me in more detail what happened?" Kukui asked gently, turning his head to face Lillie as he stirred the pot with one hand. 

"Mallow's dad... isn't the best person" she whispered, still hesitant to expose the secrets that Mallow had shared with her. It felt wrong... like she was gossiping behind her friends back. The friend that was so vulnerable right now.

She knew this wasn't like that, but it still didn't feel right. She had to keep reminding herself that this was for the best. 

"She's texted me a few times about things he's said" She continued. "About how she's scared of him. Scared of talking back to him because she knows he'll use everything against her"

Kukui nodded, stirring the liquid in the pot silently. 

"She's forced to work long hours, even when she has other things to do." Lillie traced her finger on the table. "She collapsed at school today because she wasn't allowed to go to bed for two nights in a row" 

Kukui furrowed his eyebrows, but was clearly trying to keep his face free of anger for Lillie's sake. He knew that Mallow was tired, it was impossible not to notice, but not being allowed to go to sleep until work was finished? Seriously?

Mallow was a child, just like Lillie. She shouldn't have had to go through that. Her father shouldn't have put her through that. 

Kukui imagined Lillie in a situation like that, forced to work until she dropped and not being able to answer back. His hands stopped stirring the pot for a moment as he thought about the situation. He didn't even want to think about it.

"She ran off today after she asked for a day off." Lillie looked down, not meeting Kukui's eyes. "Her father said something.... really bad. Something he shouldn't have said" 

Kukui was able to pick up that that was something he shouldn't press any further. 

"She can't go back there." Lillie said, suddenly a lot more panicked. "I can't let her go back there after tonight, it would just happen again" 

Kukui stood by the table, he abandoned the pot on the stove momentarily in order to place a hand on top of Lillie's shaking ones. 

"I know, and I'll make sure she doesn't go back there." He rubbed Lillie's hands gently. "I'd be a pretty awful teacher if I knowingly let something like that happen to my students" 

"T-thank you." Lillie whimpered. "I don't know where else she could go, but I know that she can't go back." 

A thought crossed Kukui's mind. Sure, he had only found out about the Mallow situation moments ago, but he knew that he had to do something about it. At the very least he couldn't leave the girl with nowhere to go. 

He would have to discuss it with Burnet first, but....

"Is she staying at Hala's place for tonight?" Kukui asked, Lillie nodded.

"I think so. At least that's where I dropped her off. Hopefully Hala was able to calm her down a bit" Lillie began to look concerned again. Kukui poured the brown liquid into the two cups.

"Here" He held out the cup patterned with stars out to Lillie, who cautiously accepted it. "This will make you feel better, I promise." 

She rested the cup on the table gently, still feeling anxious. Kukui slid into the seat next to her with care. 

"Thanks for talking to me. I know this must have been difficult, but now Mallow can get the help she needs" Kukui smiled down at her.

"Where will she go?" She asked gently, avoiding Kukui's gaze in favour of looking down at the cup on the table. 

Something about the situation appealed to his parental side. He wasn't sure if it was the thought of what he would do if Lillie was put in a similar situation, or if it was his protective nature over his students, but he felt somewhat responsible for Mallow. Even if he knew it had nothing to do with him, he felt as though he couldn't do nothing.

He'd need to arrange a few things, but...

"I think I know"

\-------------------------------------------------

Mallow didn't remember much from the previous night, but she certainly did remember waking up in a bed that was definitely not her own. 

_What the fuck? Did I get drunk last night or something?_

She didn't have time to process the question, or why she was fully clothed in a stranger's bed. Before a very energetic boy burst through the door, without even knocking.

"Oh, you're awake!" Hau grinned widely, not seeming phased by the look of utmost confusion on Mallow's face. "You've got a visitor, he wants to see you" 

_visitor?_

_he wants to see me?_

A few memories of the previous day returned to her, of how her dad.... of how she ran away. Of how Lillie came to pick her up, and now she was taken to Hau's house... everything else past that was a blur of tears and flashbacks.

 _Oh shit._

Mallow panicked as her mind was flooded with thoughts. Terrible, awful, thoughts. Of the things he would say. Of the even harsher treatment she would receive if she returned home. 

He'd blame her, he'd say it was all her fault. He was right, it was her fault, it was all her fault, it was all her fault, she shouldn't have left, she shouldn't have-

"No! I don't want to go back" Mallow cried, sounding like a frightened child, but she didn't really care about that in the moment. "I can't go back, it's all my fault, everything is my fault-" 

She began to stammer, breathing increasing in pace. Hau took a step back as he realised what he had said. 

"Wait, no, not him." He clarified. "It's Kukui, he wants to see you" 

Mallow heard what Hau said, but the words refused to process in her head. Everything around her felt as though it was collapsing, like she was trapped. She struggled to breathe, she couldn't breathe.

Hau realised what was going on and cursed his poor choice of words under his breath. "It's alright, it's just Kukui, he won't judge you." He reassured, a nervous smile on his face. 

Mallow still couldn't hear him, all the sounds were blending into one. She didn't know what was happening, she didn't know anything except that she couldn't go back. She repeated the words over and over, as if trying to convince herself. 

"I can't go back, I can't go back...." she said, again and again. Hau began to realise that he was out of his depth. That he had accidentally triggered some pretty awful memories. 

The similarities between her behaviour at that moment and her behaviour the previous night when Lillie had brought her to him did not go unnoticed. This was another panic attack, just like the one she had yesterday. 

"Hala!" Hau called, knowing that his grandfather was somewhere downstairs. Hau stood in the doorway, uncertain as he heard his grandfather's heavy footsteps slowly approaching. 

"What is it, Hau?" He sounded fairly tired, but seemed to wake up a bit when he saw Hau's nervous face gesturing inside the room. 

Hala entered the room, and was faced with a crying Mallow, clearly in the middle of another panic attack. He shot a questioning glare towards his grandson before sitting on the bed opposite Mallow, who was clearly trying to stifle her sobs with her hand.

"Hey, it's okay." He remembered Hau's words last night about not liking physical contact. "It's just Kukui, no one else." 

He shot Hau a glare that asked _what happened?_

"I just said that someone was here to see her, and she didn't interpret that well." He sheepishly explained. Hala sighed.

Mallow hadn't stopped murmuring about how she was going to be forced to go back, about how she couldn't. Hala quickly picked up on the situation. 

"Hey, listen to me. Okay?" He said, his voice low and calming. "No one is going to force you to go back, in fact, it's the opposite. None of us want you to go back, and If anyone tried to make you, I'd knock some sense into them." 

Mallow's breathing slowed slightly, but she didn't seem much better. 

"Both Hau and I care for you very much, and I'm sure Kukui does as well." He continued "I promise that we'll keep him away from you, and you have no obligation to ever return" 

Mallow seemed to calm down a bit, but her breathing was still uneven, and still too fast. 

"Can you breathe with me?" Hala asked, slowing his breathing down to a pace that was slower than normal. "In for three, out for three"

He began to breathe slowly, and Mallow reluctantly complied. The breaths she took were shaky, but they followed Hala's pace. It took a while of her breathing in and out, counting in her head as she matched Hala's pace, but eventually she was able to bring her breathing to a steady rhythm.

Hala made sure she was breathing slowly before he spoke to her again. "How does that feel?"

"...better" She rubbed her face with the back of her wrist. "Thanks." 

"It's no problem." Hala smiled warmly, instinctively reaching out to pat her on the shoulder before recalling what Hau said. He sharply retracted his hand. 

Hau hovered nervously in the background during this whole exchange, unsure if he should leave or not. Eventually Hala turned to him.

"Go greet Kukui, she'll be down in a minute" Hala half-ordered. Hau nodded before sharply turning and darting down the stairs. 

\-------------------------------------------------

"Hey Mallow" Kukui smiled at her warmly as she walked down the stairs, Hala following close behind. "How are you feeling?" 

Mallow put on her best smile, and tried to act as though she hadn't been crying like a baby a few minutes prior. "I'm good, how are you?" 

Kukui looked unconvinced, but he refused to let his smile falter. "I'm good, Lillie was quite concerned about you last night, do you mind dropping by my lab?" 

Lillie... concerned. Oh no.

"Aha, that's fine" Mallow said on autopilot. "I don't have anything else to do today anyways" 

"Great! Are you free right now?" Kukui asked.

 _Say no, say no, say no, say no._

"Sure!" Mallow blurted out, trying her best not to sound unsure of herself. 

"Great!" Kukui hopped up from his seat, already heading towards the door. 

As he left, Mallow heard him whisper a few words to Hala. "Thanks for taking care of the kid" 

Hala nodded and clapped Kukui on the back, before opening the door to let them out. Hau waved them off and shouted something about seeing Mallow at school. 

The walk to Kukui's lab was.... awkward to say the least. Mallow couldn't stop sweating the whole way back, and she fiddled with a stray bit of her hair just to give her hands something to do. 

It didn't help that Kukui didn't say a word the entire journey there, it was all just silence.... thick, awkward silence. Mallow felt her nerves get the better of her. 

As Kukui's lab appeared in the distance, Mallow imagined everything that Lillie said to Kukui. How she probably said something like "Mallow couldn't even handle her father yelling at her, so she ran off crying like a baby" 

It was illogical, and definitely not something Lillie would ever do, but she couldn't help but feel anxious nonetheless. 

She had nearly collapsed in on herself by the time they reached the door, Mallow felt as though she would melt into the ground like an especially drippy goodra. 

Kukui reached to unlock the door, and it was at that point that Mallow's anxiety reached the tipping point. 

"What did Lillie say?" She blurted out, causing Kukui to freeze before his hand took hold of the doorknob. 

Kukui looked down at Mallow, who was trembling. He kept his voice as level as possible in his response. "She just told me about some of the things you've been going through, because she was worried about you"

Mallow looked down at the wooden porch, guilt overwhelming her. The last thing she wanted to do was make Lillie worried, she shouldn't have said anything, she should have-

"I think we should continue this conversation inside, Lillie is busy downstairs in the basement." Kukui smiled warmly before opening the door, letting it swing open as he sauntered into the house as though he hadn't a care in the world. His lab coat swished behind him.

Mallow reluctantly followed, feeling a second pair of eyes on her as she entered. She looked over to the couch and realised it was Burnet, smiling widely and still in her professor outfit. 

_Fuck._

Kukui made his way over to the couch, sitting down next to his wife, but leaving a gap in between them. He gestured for Mallow to sit in the gap, which Mallow visibly tensed at. The idea of being so close to both of them made her skin crawl.

"Um, I think I'm going to sit over here, if that's alright" She stammered as she sat in an armchair which was at an angle to the couch. It was the perfect balance between 'close enough that we can talk to each other' and 'far enough so that I don't feel suffocated'.

She felt both the adult's eyes on her as she sat down, this only served to make her tense up even more. 

"No need to be nervous, cousin." Kukui said, in his usual boisterous professor voice. "We just want to check up on you" 

This did little to alleviate Mallows feelings of hesitation, but she tried her best to relax nonetheless. 

"Lillie talked to us last night." Burnet began, much softer than her husband. "Well, she came to Kukui, then Kukui filled me in"

Mallow wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she settled with a simple "Ah." 

"Mallow, As your teacher, I care about you a lot. I don't want to see you upset or hurt." He looked at Mallow with concern. "Remember that I'm always here to listen to you, and that you can come to me with any sort of problem." 

"Mhm" Mallow hummed, biting her lip. She really, REALLY didn't want to look at the professors right now, their stares were enough to burn into her soul. She knew she'd just start crying again anyways.

"About your father..." She began, knowing that her husband would struggle to know how to phrase this. "You are under no obligation to stay in his custody, and if what Lillie said is true, I don't think you should." 

"What did Lillie say?" Mallow asked for the second time that day, finally able to make eye contact with Kukui.

"She told us about how your father... says some pretty awful things to you. Things that no adult should say to their child." He began cautiously, clearly taking time to choose his words. "And she also mentioned how you're not allowed sleep until you've completed all your work in the restaurant, is that true?" 

Mallow's breathing hitched, which Kukui took as confirmation that it was. 

"It's not his fault...." Mallow didn't know why she was defending her father, but she felt she had to. "He never hit me, he never put a finger on me. So I shouldn't be complaining." 

"Emotional abuse is still abuse" Burnet stated firmly, but keeping a certain softness to her tone. "It can mess you up just as bad as physical abuse. You don't deserve to be around somebody like that." 

Mallow didn't want to listen to this. She knew that her father had done wrong, but she felt a certain loyalty to him. "He gave me shelter, he gave me food, he let me stay in his house. He didn't have to do all that, but he did. I'm being ungrateful."

"You aren't." Burnet reassured. "Providing the bare essentials for someone isn't how you be a parent, and some people don't understand that" 

She disagreed. Parents just had to give their children what they needed, nothing more, nothing less. It wasn't like he had done anything really awful, like deprive her of food or anything... that meant he was a good person, right?

"He loved me" Mallow stated firmly, before adding "I think" under her breath. Burnet heard it, but didn't comment on it.

"Abuse isn't love, some people don't deserve to be parents." Burnet retorted, still keeping her tone firm, but not too firm. "You shouldn't be in a household like that, you deserve to feel safe."

"I know you might think it's your fault right now, but I promise that it isn't." Kukui suddenly spoke up, backing up his wife. "I know it's difficult to admit that the people you love aren't good people, but it's the best thing you can do."

Mallow felt tears welling up, but she quickly forced them down. "He went through a lot, after mom died.... he was just lashing out" She knew her excuses were becoming more flimsy, but she had to defend him... because...

She wasn't sure why, but she had to.

"I know it's hard." Kukui reassured in the softest voice he could manage. "I know because I've been in a similar situation myself." 

Mallow froze up at that. Kukui... was in a house like that? Then why was he telling her that it wasn't her fault? He should be telling her that she needs to go back and apologise right now, he should know that it's her fault, even if she doesn't know why. It's her fault because it always is. 

Unless Kukui was right? 

Maybe it was better to leave? 

"But it's my fault." She protested meekly. 

"I know it might feel like that, but I promise it isn't." He smiled softly. "I used to think the same way, but it was only after I realised that I wasn't the one in the wrong did I finally move on. There's no shame in leaving an abusive household." 

"He's not abusive." Mallow insisted.

"He is." Burnet looked at Mallow with a look that was firm enough to silence whatever retort she was preparing to make. "Don't argue with me on that." 

Mallow closed her mouth defeatedly, not knowing how else to reply. Kukui took the opportunity to jump in.

"You don't have to go back, and you don't have to feel guilty for not going back." He assured. "Leaving might be the best thing for you." 

There was a silence as Mallow considered it. Just... leave? Just like that? Abandon her father when she needed him most?

No. It wasn't like that. She had to leave. She had to trust that Kukui knew what he was talking about. Although....

"Where would I go?" She asked, seemingly considering the prospect of leaving. "I don't have anywhere else to stay, and how would I go back to get my stuff?" 

"Well...." Burnet hesitated slightly, but a small smile formed at the corner of her lips. Her hand extended to rest on top of Kukui's. Kukui himself was also smiling slightly. "Me and Kukui have been discussing that, and we think we have a solution"

"Mhm." Kukui hummed in approval. Mallow tilted her head in confusion.

Then Burnet spoke up, and said something that made Mallow question if this was a dream or not.

"How would you like to move in with us?"

\-------------------------------------------------

~Finally some people with common sense~ 

FlyingTypeMaster: *photo*

MayIHaveYourAttention: Oh my

DropDeadGorgeous: HAHAHAHAHAHA  
DropDeadGorgeous: Leaf is gonna kill you, you know that?

TheRealDragonMaster: Oh wow!  
TheRealDragonMaster: She looks so powerful (´⊙ω⊙`)

SereineGrace: Why does that suit her so well?

ToxicSpikes: Oh you're right, it does (=´∀｀)  
ToxicSpikes: She's not going to be happy you took that photo 

FlyingTypeMaster: Eh, it's funny (:  
FlyingTypeMaster: I didn't expect to walk in to see her rummaging through my closet 

RoseMarnie: Why am I not surprised?

WaterLily: (^O^)  
WaterLily: That's adorable, in a weird way 

LeafMeAlone: WHAT THE HELL LANCE?  
LeafMeAlone: WHEN DID YOU TAKE THAT PICTURE????????

FlyingTypeMaster: Haha, I just so happened to walk in as you were modelling one of my capes  
FlyingTypeMaster: I'm flattered 

LeafMeAlone: DELETE THAT PICTURE RIGHT NOW.  
LeafMeAlone: OR I'LL GET PRYCE TO POUND YOU TO DUST.

FlyingTypeMaster: Haha, you're really worked up about this  
FlyingTypeMaster: It's cute.

ToxicSpikes: Oh no.  
ToxicSpikes: You didn't just call Leaf cute.

FlyingTypeMaster: I did (: 

ToxicSpikes: I'm not going to your funeral

LeafMeAlone: YOU ABSOLUTE FAILURE OF A CHAMPION  
LeafMeAlone: I WILL USE YOU AS BONEMEAL YOU STUPID DRAGON WANNABE

DropDeadGorgeous: Don't mind me, just saving the photo for later blackmail. ( ✌︎'ω')✌︎

LeafMeAlone: PEONIA I WILL KILL YOU

DropDeadGorgeous: Haha try me 

WaterLily: There's nothing really wrong with it (^^)v  
WaterLily: It suits you

MayIHaveYourAttention: Yeah, she's right

RoseMarnie: Can I ask why you were in Lance's house?  
RoseMarnie: And going through his closet

DropDeadGorgeous: Haha yeah good point  
DropDeadGorgeous: Are you one of those crazed fan girls?

LeafMeAlone: I will end you.

DropDeadGorgeous changed LeafMeAlone's name to LanceFanClub 

LanceFanClub: HHHHHRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNN

TheRealDragonMaster: HAHAHAHA  
TheRealDragonMaster: Oh wow, Leaf is getting destroyed today (⌒▽⌒)

SereineGrace: She is.  
SereineGrace: But that's a fair question.

FlyingTypeMaster: Oh, Leaf lives with me now

MayIHaveYourAttention: ?

DropDeadGorgeous: WHAT?

TheRealDragonMaster: WHAT?

SereineGrace: WHAT?

WaterLily: Oh, when did that happen? ( ´ ▽ ` )

FlyingTypeMaster: Yesterday, actually  
FlyingTypeMaster: We kinda discussed where she was staying, and I invited her to stay at my place. 

MayIHaveYourAttention: Ah, that makes sense

DropDeadGorgeous: OH MY.  
DropDeadGorgeous: DAD ENERGY.  
DropDeadGorgeous: YOU CANNOT DENY IT ANYMORE.

LanceFanClub: I hate you. 

RoseMarnie: She's kinda right though 

SereineGrace: Agreed

LanceFanClub: LANCE IS NOT MY DAD.

SereineGrace: Press X to doubt.

RoseMarnie: X

DropDeadGorgeous: X

ToxicSpikes: X

TheRealDragonMaster: X 

WaterLily: X

MayIHaveYourAttention: X 

FlyingTypeMaster: X

DropDeadGorgeous: AHAHAHAHHAHAHAJAJHAHSHSJDHHSJSJSHSJ 

LanceFanClub: LANCE SHUT UP.

DropDeadGorgeous: EVEN LANCE ADMITS IT!  
DropDeadGorgeous: LANCE IS YOUR DAD NOW.

TheRealDragonMaster: YEP!  
TheRealDragonMaster: He is (:<

NinjaFather: He does act especially paternal around her  
NinjaFather: It isn't a bad thing, Leaf.

LanceFanClub: I'm going to kill everyone here and then myself

MayIHaveYourAttention changed LanceFanClub's name to Lance'sDaughter 

Lance'sDaughter: are you trying to make me have a fucking aneurism? 

SereineGrace: Love you too xx

WaterLily: Have we not bullied Leaf enough for today?

Lance'sDaughter: YEAH EXACTLY.  
Lance'sDaughter: IF ANYONE YOU SHOULD BE BULLYING LILLIE FOR THIS

WaterLily: Kukui isn't my dad

MayIHaveYourAttention: Here we go again.

Marshmallow: Hi, I just arrived  
Marshmallow: Kukui is her dad.

WaterLily: Mallow ):<

Marshmallow: Well, I guess he's my dad too now, so I can't say anything  
Marshmallow: Does that make Burnet my new Mom?

WaterLily: Yes, Exactly. 

DropDeadGorgeous: Wait, hold the fuck up  
DropDeadGorgeous: What?

RoseMarnie: ?

ToxicSpikes: Did I miss something?

MayIHaveYourAttention: ?

Marshmallow: I moved in with Lillie  
Marshmallow: Kukui kind of invited me to move in, and I accepted

DropDeadGorgeous: Oh wow.  
DropDeadGorgeous: There is so much dad energy here right now I'm going to explode

RoseMarnie: Mum energy too.

TheRealDragonMaster: Hahahahah!  
TheRealDragonMaster: Good for you!

SereineGrace: Yeah, congrats I guess?  
SereineGrace: you have a dad now that isn't a piece of shit

Marshmallow: Ayyyyyy!  
Marshmallow: And a mom that isn't dead

MayIHaveYourAttention: Uh....

SereineGrace: Oh. 

ToxicSpikes: Well, Umm.  
ToxicSpikes: I'm not sure how to respond to that

NinjaFather: My condolences  
NinjaFather: But congratulations nonetheless 

ToxicSpikes: Yeah, congrats!

MayIHaveYourAttention: Good for you

Lance'sDaughter: Hey? How come you aren't bullying them for it

DropDeadGorgeous: Because they actually admitted it  
DropDeadGorgeous: We'll stop when you admit we're right.

Lance'sDaughter: You're not right! 

DropDeadGorgeous: Then we won't stop :p  
DropDeadGorgeous: Also you haven't changed your name back which means we're right  
DropDeadGorgeous: <3 

Lance'sDaughter: I'm about to explode istg 

RoseMarnie: Good. 

MayIHaveYourAttention: Oh wow.  
MayIHaveYourAttention: That was blunt, even for you, Marnie

RoseMarnie: Yeah

ToxicSpikes: Hey I think Leaf's genuinely about to have a stroke over here so can we stop for now?

DropDeadGorgeous: Fine ):<  
DropDeadGorgeous: Also May isn't scolding us for language so I'm taking that as an invitation  
DropDeadGorgeous: Frick Heck. 

MayIHaveYourAttention: Why do I even bother?  
MayIHaveYourAttention: You all swear like sailors anyways, so there's no point in me chewing you out over it  
MayIHaveYourAttention: Hell, you're worse than sailors  
MayIHaveYourAttention: Not even Archie was this bad

SereineGrace: Can't tell if that's dissing us or Archie 

RoseMarnie: both.

Marshmallow: LOL, anyways  
Marshmallow: I'm gonna get back to songwriting with Lillie. 

WaterLily: Yes, we have come up with some good ideas (:

FlyingTypeMaster: Alright, take care  
FlyingTypeMaster: Especially you, Mallow

Marshmallow: Yessir 

\---

"So Lance basically adopted Leaf, huh?" Mallow sat her phone down on the bed, which was opposite from Lillie's. 

"Pretty much" Lillie giggled, tapping the pink pen on the open notebook. "I don't think she'll ever admit that though" 

"Yeah, you're right" 

Kukui and Burnet had certainly done a lot of work in a short amount of time. The loft that previously only housed Lillie now had an additional bed, covered with a fluffy green duvet. An additional chair and desk had also appeared in the loft, with a small chest of drawers for Mallow's belongings.

What she liked the most, however, was the small bounsweet plushie that sat on her pillow. She had found it on her bed when she arrived, and although she had no clue how Kukui managed to retrieve it from her house, she was grateful nonetheless. 

Kukui had been overall very secretive about how he retrieved her belongings, but that wasn't something she argued with. After being brushed off by Kukui, she asked Burnet, only to receive an "It's not something to worry about" In response. 

She had received a few messages from her father since then, but Lillie encouraged her to delete them and block his number. Mallow didn't hesitate to comply.

"So, do you like the outfits Serena designed?" Lillie asked, watching as Mallow fiddled with the new pokeball on her belt. 

"Mhm, I think they're cool. But it's Serena, so I didn't expect anything less" Mallow had grown used to Serena's impossible talent at this point, but she couldn't deny that seeing her sketches always impressed her. 

Lillie's eyes drifted down to Mallow's hands, which were fiddling with the third pokeball that rested next to bounsweet's and fomantis'. 

"You really like that tropius, huh?" She asked, giggling slightly at how Mallow flushed a shade of pink. 

"Well, I just didn't expect Kukui to do all...... this! Let alone catch me a Pokemon" The slight warmth of the metal ball was a comforting feeling to mallow. 

Lillie lowered her voice before replying. "Well, now you won't be late to the meetings anymore"

"Suppose so" Mallow chuckled. 

A small silence settled between the two girls for a moment, Lillie wrote a few more lines into her notepad, the pen gliding along the paper with a satisfying sound. 

"..." Mallow glanced at the bounsweet plush on the pillow once more.

"I'm just glad you're okay" Lillie sighed. "I've been worried sick for a while now, and I know you might be mad at me for getting Kukui involved, but I didn't know what else to do, and"

"Hey, it's okay" Mallow smiled softly. "I'm not mad. Okay, I might have been a little mad at first, but I know you were just looking out for me." 

"Well....." Lillie bit her lip. "I suppose." 

"If it makes you feel any better, I never would have asked for help if you didn't intervene when you did" Mallow ran a hand through her green hair "So, you did me a favour" 

"Ah...." Lillie smiled to herself, and Mallow swore she saw a hint of a blush on her face. 

"Anyways, how's the writing coming along?" Mallow sprung up from the bed, feeling the brand new springs under her creak. She skimmed over what Lillie had written so far. "I think we're almost done." 

Lillie nodded in agreement, looking over what she had written already. "You sure you're up for centre after all this.... commotion?" 

"Hell yeah" Mallow grinned. "I've never been more ready. This whole fiasco has only inspired me more" 

"Haha, well, if you're sure" Lillie smiled widely for the first time that day, her entire face lighting up. Mallow thought it was adorable. 

The two girls heard a knock at the base of the loft. "Can I come up there, or are you two getting changed?" 

"We're dressed" Lillie replied, quickly closing her notebook with a **snap.** Kukui was still blissfully unaware of the idol group, and Lillie intended to keep it that way.

The ladder creaked as Kukui's head popped up into the loft. "Just coming up to say that me and Burnet are making lunch, if you two want to come and help out?" 

Mallow perked up at the mention of food. "Oh! I'll help" 

She also couldn't deny she had the overwhelming urge to make herself useful, in order to make up for all the effort Kukui went through for her. She wasn't really used to people acting that way, and she intended to prove that she was worth keeping. 

"I'll help out as well" Lillie said, voice shaking slightly. More out of surprise than anything else, as Kukui had come dangerously close to seeing the contents of her notebook, and that wasn't something she could explain away.

"Alright, I'll be in the kitchen, just come down when you're ready" Kukui smiled, before sliding down the ladder quickly.

This was definitely weird to Mallow, very, very weird. But she couldn't deny that it felt nice. 

Is this what family was? 

"Come on" Lillie rose from her seat, grabbing Mallow by the wrist with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving!" 

Mallow simply chucked. 

This was family, wasn't it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Notes~
> 
> Much shorter chapter, but that's because I wrote 2 additional scenes, but decided to save them for a later chapter. Also next chapter is going to be a big one.
> 
> As someone who has experience with a very similar situation to Mallow, I wanted to show that leaving a situation like that can feel horrible. Even if you know it's for the best, you're left with so much guilt and (at least for me) I felt like I was abandoning them when they needed me. I now know that's called gaslighting and that there is no shame in leaving an abusive situation.
> 
> Situations are not the same for everyone, and these feelings won't apply to everyone. I'm just sharing how I felt. 
> 
> Anyways, on a slightly less depressing note, I felt I should clarify some stuff about this AU.
> 
> 1\. Somewhat cannon compliant with the games, this takes place after Swsh, hgss, Oras and usum, but the events of X/Y, B/W, D/P/P have not yet transpired  
> 2\. The regions are not as far apart as they are in real life, but they are still fairly far away  
> 3\. Idols are a bigger deal and take the place of contest idols. (You'll find out a lot more about this and meet some familiar characters next chapter (; )  
> 4\. All of the main cast are 13, please do not be creepy  
> 5\. I am very aware of how difficult it is to become an idol irl and how it takes a LOT more than what the characters are putting in here. But I don't really want to explore that, because if I started writing in some of the horrors that real j-pop idols face this would be a VERY different story.  
> 6\. Red returned from mt silver, but still disappears up there occasionally. Always returns within a week or less.  
> 7\. Lance is still champion since there are rules about minors becoming champion. (Then why is May a champion? That's a spoiler.) 
> 
> Aight, that's all, stay healthy and thanks for reading so far xx


	7. Origins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Songs -
> 
> Shiranai Love* Oshiete Love (K☆Tsu performance)
> 
> Start dash (Main character performance)

~Nine months earlier~ 

Iris wondered if she even knew what she was doing. 

Another loss to Drayden. That wasn't a surprise. She was used to that by now, and she was used to the feeling that she had let him down. 

Any other person would have killed to be in her shoes. A gym leader, close to becoming the champion. Having a mentor that was the mayor of Opelucid. That was something she should be really proud of. Right?

Well, it sounded good in theory. In practice it wasn't so good. 

There was always the knowledge that she would never be as good as him. No matter how much she trained. It was always just a nagging thought at the back of her head, but it was never one that she could get rid of.

But she never let that get her down, even if it made it difficult to continue battling sometimes. She was usually able to banish those thoughts with her eternal optimism. 

Iris never saw the point in being sad. Being down all the time wasn't her style, especially when there was always a positive side to everything. Even if it was difficult to see. 

That's how she ended up where she was, wasn't it? 

"That was a great attempt." Drayden recalled his own Haxorus quickly, his voice was somewhat happy, but it was always difficult to tell what he was feeling behind his beard. 

"Thanks" Iris beamed back at him. "I think I'm getting stronger."

Drayden nodded. "I agree. Your technique has improved a lot these past few months." 

Even if Iris didn't fully believe him, she would take the compliment nonetheless. Even when she was almost entirely sure that he was lying to make her feel better. If she really had improved, why couldn't she beat him?

Well, it wasn't something worth dwelling on. She had done enough of that as of late.

She made her way to the break room, down the huge-obnoxiously shaped giant dragon statue that Drayden insisted on battling on. Not that Iris didn't like it, but she just felt it was somewhat unnecessary. Especially just for sparring.

She couldn't help but feel a little... disappointed. Not in Drayden, he was doing his best to train her, he was doing her best to make her the future champion. 

Future champion. 

She hated that title. It felt as though everyone around her knew what she wanted more than she did. They expected her to take the champion title, they always had. As the years progressed, Iris couldn't help but feel a little rushed as their "Oh, you'll be an amazing champion one day" turned to "You still haven't taken the champion title?" 

They were just trying to be supportive, she knew that. But sometimes she just wanted to snap back and ask if they ever considered what she wanted, if she even wanted to become champion in the first place? 

Truthfully, she didn't. 

Then there were those who weren't so nice, telling her that she needs to grow up and stop acting like such a child if she ever wanted a chance at taking the title. 

Because she shouldn't act like a child, despite being one.

She sighed as she sunk down into the couch in the break room. The Tv played a show she wasn't particularly interested in, but she didn't have the energy to reach for the remote and change the channel. Normally she would, but the battle really sucked a lot of energy out of her.

_You'll never beat Drayden at this rate, let alone become champion._

_You need to grow up. Stop acting like a child_

"Now we are at the live debut of the brand new single by the world renowned idol group, Kumori Tsubasa. We're live at their concert in Kanto right now." 

With nothing better to do, Iris focused her attention on the TV, it appeared to be a show about... idols? Not something Iris had ever thought about, or even really heard of up until this point. 

She focused her attention back on the Tv, deciding that she might as well watch this. Not like there would be anything more interesting on right now. 

"K☆Tsu fans have been anticipating the release of this new album for a long time now." A lady with brown hair tied back into a ponytail spoke into a microphone. "According to the group itself, this will be a Lisia focused album, so apologies to all the Hilda and Skyla fans out there." 

_Skyla? Isn't she a gym leader?_

Iris was transfixed on the screen at this point, a curiosity that she never knew she had taking over her. 

"It seems they are about to take to the stage, so let's turn our cameras there, shall we?" The reported smiled, before the shot faded into a close up of a stage. 

The quiet whispers of the audience could be heard in the background as the camera focused on the three silhouettes on the stage. Neon lights illuminated the stage around them, but the spotlights were turned off so that they remained shadows to the audience.

The three posed as music began to blare from loudspeakers around them. A single spotlight illuminated the girl on the right, which Iris immediately recognised as Skyla. Her vibrant red hair was tied back in a ponytail, the usual two strands hanging down her face. Her outfit was a pastel blue, with belt made of... cotton? 

It certainly looked very fluffy, and a darker blue heart rested in the centre. She also appeared to have some sort of bracket around her wrists made of a similar fluffy material.

The second spotlight illuminated to reveal another trainer with a ponytail, except hers was a dark brown. She grinned widely at the audience, causing Iris to spot that she had a very similar outfit to Skyla's, except the fabric was a slightly different shade of blue, with a little more green in it.

She also had the cotton-like belt, and the fluffy wrist accessories.

Finally, the third spotlight illuminated the girl in the centre, wearing a very flashy outfit. There was even more of the cotton on her outfit, looking like she had tiny clouds floating around certain parts of her. She didn't wear a skirt like the other two, instead wearing shorts with two ruffles on the sides. It was clear to anyone that she was the leader, and that the crowd loved her.

Somehow, the music managed to overpower the deafening roar of the audience, as the three girls sang the opening lines. 

To Iris, they sounded like angels. 

Even if the music was very upbeat, the uniqueness of each voice shone through and harmonised perfectly. Iris found herself unable to move as she watched the Tv in a trance. Even though Lisia was the main focus, both Hilda and Skyla shone in their own unique way. 

Their movements were perfectly synchronised, they clearly had a lot of practice. The crowd seemed to love them, as they cheered and waved coloured glow sticks in the dim lighting. 

They seemed to utilise the full stage, giving everyone in the audience a good view of the action as they sang. Even their choreography seemed perfect.

By the time the song drew to a close, Iris sat there with a sparkle in her eyes. She felt slightly breathless, even though she was just watching the performance. She couldn't quite believe it. 

_that was amazing._

Lisia waved and blew kisses to the crowd as they roared with excitement. Hilda and Skyla did the same, but the cameras focused on Lisia. Even from her spot on the couch thousands of miles away from the actual action, Iris felt the excitement of the crowd radiate through the screen.

She somehow made up her mind in that moment. 

She had no idea how, or why, but just seeing how excited the group looked while up on the stage... that was something she wanted.

People can change their minds about something in the blink of an eye, huh?

She didn't hesitate to pull out her phone, and message the first three people that came to mind. Just a simple sentence, with nothing else attached.

"Hey, you wanna start an idol group with me?"

\---------------------------------------------

"Did you get the text from Iris as well?" Leaf asked casually. 

Janine's scarf slipped down so that it covered less of her face, Janine herself still had both of her hands firmly planted on the controller, not taking her eyes away from the screen for even a split second. Leaf, on the other hand, seemed quite lackadaisical about the game, but was still playing nonetheless.

Leaf giggled as Janine's cart was hit with a shuckle shell, causing her to curse under her breath. Leaf quickly zoomed into first place, leaving Janine fumbling with her controller.

"You did that on purpose!" Janine protested, tearing her eyes away from the screen momentarily to glare at Leaf. 

"So what if I did" Leaf said in an amused tone. "I thought you were supposed to be good at this game." 

Janine muttered something that was obscured by her scarf, although Leaf knew that it probably wasn't very PG. 

Janine continued to focus on the game as though it was a case of life-or-death. Leaf even spotted a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead as she mashed the buttons on the controller. Leaf leaned back in her chair, confident she would win. She was already far out in first place, with the NPCs too far back to do much of anything.

She smirked slightly as she continued to lead the race, neither Janine or the AI's could compete against her, she was the queen of Wario kart, she was....

"Ha!" Janine exclaimed as she quickly passed Leaf, taking back the first place position. 

"How did you get a blue shuckle out of nowhere!?" Leaf spluttered, suddenly perking up at the knowledge that she might lose. Her character stalled for a few seconds, before zooming back off in pursuit of Janine. 

"Good things come to those who wait. That's what father always told me." Janine smirked under her scarf, and although Leaf couldn't see it, her tone told her everything she needed to know. 

"You've been hanging around that old man too much." She grumbled, focusing back on the game. She heard Janine chuckle next to her.

"You've been hanging around Blue too much, maybe then you wouldn't get so overconfident." Janine said playfully. "Who was it that was just telling me I wasn't any good at this game?" 

Leaf grumbled words of profanity under her breath, but neither of them took it as anything other than lighthearted teasing. 

They reached the final lap, Leaf had caught up to Janine at this point, and the two of them were almost neck and neck. Leaf lagged behind a tiny bit, but it was barley noticeable. Whatever was left of Leaf's lazy attitude towards the game was gone, as she looked just as absorbed as Janine. 

Both of them hunched over their controllers, frantically mashing buttons in an attempt to surpass the other one. It was the same fiery passion that they knew from battling each other, except this time it was directed to a video game. 

They both saw the finish line in the distance, a flood of adrenaline taking hold of them. Janine mashed her controller so hard that Leaf thought it might break, although Leaf was mashing her own one just as frantically.

The final seconds of the race ended up making all the difference.

"Wohoo!" She shouted, throwing her hands up in the air with the controller still in them. "That's right, you just lost to me!"

Leaf rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah, whatever you say." She dropped her own controller, letting it bounce on the soft carpet. "It's a stupid game anyways."

"Someone's a sore loser." Janine raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you should take Koga's advice for once." 

"Like I'd listen to what that old man has to say." Leaf scoffed, but smirked so that Janine knew she was joking. 

"Well, maybe you should" She jabbed back, "Considering I just beat you at the game you were bragging to me about." 

"I bet I could beat Koga in this game, so shush." Leaf stuck her tongue out at Janine, before turning away with her arms crossed. 

Leaf got huffy when she lost, and that was something that Janine was used to. Wether it be in a Pokemon battle, or just a video game, Leaf always gave it her all. It only made the times that she lost that more frustrating, and Janine definitely understood how it felt to still lose when you gave it your all. So she didn't hold it against her. 

It was still fun to tease her about, though.

Janine giggled momentarily "So what were you saying? Before you got your ass handed to you, that is." 

"How mature." Leaf would have glared at Janine, but since she was still turned away from her, she glared at the controller on the floor instead. As though it was the reason she lost. 

"Like you can talk." She laughed. "And you didn't answer my question." 

Leaf cast her mind back to what she said before her competitive streak took over.  
"Oh, yeah." She dropped whatever attitude she had before and turned back to Janine. "Iris, from Unova. Did you get a message from her?" 

Janine sighed. "Funnily enough, I did." 

Leaf raised an eyebrow at Janine's tone, a feeling that they were both referring to the same thing crept over her. "So...." she began. "Idols, huh? I never would have though she's the type."

Janine raised an eyebrow. "I think she's the perfect type if I'm honest, bubbly, energetic, confident..." 

"Obnoxious." Leaf added, Janine stifled a giggle. 

"Okay, that too." She admitted. "But my point still stands. I think she'll make a great idol." 

Leaf smiled slightly. "Yeah, but I wouldn't." She made some vague gestures with her hands. "Idols are all....." she made even more gestures. "I dunno, sweet and bubbly? I wouldn't exactly use those words to describe myself. 'Sarcastic' and 'prick' are the first words that come to mind"

"Don't forget a sore loser as well." Janine teased. 

"Hey! You're not meant to agree with me." Leaf pouted, sending a childish glare Janine's way. "But you know what I mean, I wouldn't make a good idol. I've got no idea why Iris asked me." 

"Well....." Janine sat the controller down on the couch, letting the main menu music loop as background noise. "Sure, you might not be the _first_ person I think of when I think Idol, but who knows? Maybe you'll change the world of idols forever" 

"Yeah sure." Leaf scoffed. "Lt Surge would make a better idol than I would." 

Janine burst into a fit of giggles at the mental image. "Okay, maybe. But if it's something you'd be interested in, then go for it!" 

"Pass." Leaf leaned back on the couch. "The day I agree to jump around on stage in a frilly dress is the day I die." 

"Awwww." Janine seemed strangely disappointed, "But you'd be such a good idol! I'd definitely go see your concerts."

"Yeah, to laugh at me." Leaf retorted. "It's a no from me, chief." 

"Well, I guess it's up to you" Janine picked up her controller again, "Ready for me to beat you a second time?" 

Leaf raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Iris invite you to join as well?"

"Ah." Janine averted her eyes from Leaf, fixing them on her controller. "She did, but my answer is the same as yours, if I'm honest." 

Leaf didn't make any effort to pick up her own controller. "Hm?"

"Well..... I'd be a pretty terrible idol." Janine sighed "I'm a ninja, and I think the last word I'd use to describe an idol is 'Ninja' or 'Tomboy'. I happen to be both of them." 

"Well, that would just make you the first." Leaf countered. 

"I also have a gym to run, and training to keep on top of..." She paused for a moment. "Yeah, I wouldn't be any good. It's better if I just don't go for it at all." 

"So you're saying you want to?" She shifted closer to Janine. 

"No! I didn't say that" Janine snapped back, a little too fast for it to be believable. "You're just jumping to conclusions."

"Hm?" She smirked, edging a little closer to Janine. Most of her face was still covered with the scarf, but Leaf knew her well enough to know exactly what her face looked like underneath it. "You sure about that?"

"Yes." Janine tore her eyes away from Leaf, looking back to the TV. "A-anyways, you still need to take back your crown, unless you admit defeat?"

That was a challenge. A challenge that Leaf normally couldn't refuse, but this time she managed to push aside her overblown competitive spirit. She wouldn't take the bait this time. 

"Nah, I think I'll pass." She edged even closer. "I think there's something you're avoiding talking about. Hm?"

Even though Leaf was trying to provoke her, no tension built up in the room. It wasn't as though the two were seriously fighting, at least for now.

"No. There isn't." She insisted, still not taking her eyes away from the screen. "And If you're not going to play, then I'll just play myself." 

Leaf narrowed her eyes. If she didn't want to admit it, she would make her.

"You know.... I think they could really use someone with your athletic ability." Leaf smirked. "It's not like Koga would ever have to find out."

"If you think flattery is going to get you anywhere, you're wrong." Janine snapped, narrowing her eyes at Leaf. "My answer is no, and that's final."

"Even though you know you'd enjoy it?" Leaf's smug smile was infuriating to Janine. 

"Can you drop the subject already?" She snapped, finally turning to face Leaf. She was grinning like an idiot, which only made Janine more annoyed.

"No, I don't think I will." She crawled along the couch, so that she was uncomfortably close to her. "Not until you admit that you want to join."

"I don't!" 

"You do."

"Do not."

"Do too." 

Janine sighed. At this rate they would end up bickering all night. 

"Alright. I'll make you a deal." Leaf began. Janine perked up, and paid attention to what Leaf was saying for once. "If you beat me in Wario kart, I'll shut up about this for the rest of the night." 

Janine knew this was too good to be true. There had to be a catch. "And If you win?"

She smirked darkly. "You have to join the idol group." 

"What sort of deal is that?" Janine backed off, forming a sizeable gap between the two in order to alleviate some of the awkwardness. "This isn't some decision I can make over a game of Wario kart, this is a really big deal!" 

As if Leaf couldn't get any more smug. "Oh well, I guess I'll just pester you about this all night. It's your decision-"

Before she could even finish her sentence, her controller was swiped from the floor and thrown at her. It hit her in the face and tumbled onto her lap. 

"Fine. We'll see who's laughing when I beat you for a second time." She growled, like an angry Arcanine. 

Leaf rubbed the sore patch on her forehead where the controller had hit her, before locking eyes with Janine. 

"Oh, it is **ON** " She grinned, picking up the controller with a newfound determination.

The playful atmosphere was gone in an instant. Replaced by the fire of competition, and with needlessly elevated stakes to make it even worse. 

Janine chose to race on Rainbow Road, the most notoriously difficult track in the game. 

"Ready to get your ass kicked?" Leaf teased, Janine didn't even pay attention to her, her eyes were glued on the Tv as the camera panned around the track.

"..." She was deathly silent, which normally would have terrified Leaf, instead it only brought out even more of her competitiveness. Janine only got this quiet when she was really focusing, or if she was pissed off, this situation was most likely a mix of both.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Leaf smirked.

The countdown to the start felt like it only took a split second, but at the exact same time it felt like it took a million years. 

This was serious.

This would be a race to go down in history. 

The counter hit zero, and the two girls were off, along with the AI's, but no one cared about them. 

The race got off to a good start, with both girls grabbing the dual items as they drifted around the first corner, Leaf was slightly ahead, but it wasn't enough to cause any concern. 

"..." Janine was still wordless, fingers mashing the plastic buttons as though her entire existence was on the line. 

"I'll see you at the finish line, If you ever make it, that is." Leaf taunted, taking a little more care as to what buttons she was pressing, but still pressing them extremely fast. 

Leaf managed to gain a somewhat respectable lead after a few minutes, using drifting to her advantage in order to gain a little extra speed over Janine. 

Janine wasn't going to take this loss lying down, however.

The first lap was completed, Leaf still a few seconds in front of Janine, she smirked like the smug bastard she was the entire time. She had a little more experience than Janine, which definitely showed. 

Until she was hit with a red shuckle.

Janine snickered like a mafia boss as she shot off into first place, leaving Leaf to gasp. "You should never fall for the same thing twice." Janine spoke for the first time that entire match. 

As Leaf got her bearings, she decided to discard her friendship with Janine for now. This was Wario Kart, feelings mean nothing. This was war.

"You're going to get it for that." She growled, allowing the spirit of competition to fully consume her. She had to win this, she was going to win this. 

Janine was now in the lead, and Leaf couldn't do much except for sit back and watch. At least until she got another item. 

Thankfully, it was a starmie-man, which she utilised to its full potential. She managed to overtake the focused Ninja at the very end of the second lap, leaving them Neck-and-neck once again.

It was all down to this. The final lap, every millisecond made a difference. 

"For the record." Leaf panted, somehow out of breath from just sitting in one place and frantically pressing buttons on a controller. "You're going to look amazing in those outfits"

Janine growled in response, letting her anger substitute for any actual words. Leaf was better at drifting than she was, and even after hitting her with the inkay to obstruct her screen, she was able to navigate the tight corners without problem. 

It looked hopeless for Janine, as Leaf skid around the second last corner without problem, looking away from the screen so that she could give Janine a shit-eating grin. 

Janine was tempted to give up. 

But then the item box ended up being her saviour. 

A blue shuckle. 

She grinned wickedly, launching it at Leaf, who yelled some very unsavoury words as it hit her kart. 

"You did your best." Janine couldn't help the smug grin that was on her face as she took the final turn. There was only a few meters between her and the finish line, she could taste victory already. 

With Leaf still at the final corner, Janine rejoiced at the fact she had won, and that Leaf would finally shut up about that stupid-

Wait.

No one knew if it was from the shitty wi-fi in Janine's house, or if it was an unlucky coincidence, or if Arceus themself had decided to curse Janine in that moment. But as Janine frantically pressed the buttons on her controller, her character didn't respond to the motions at all. 

Janine watched with a look of horror as Leaf zoomed past her, crossing the finish line before her at the very last second. 

"Well, well, well" Leaf clapped her hands together as a nefarious grin crossed her face. "Look who spoke too soon." 

"Hey! That's not fair." Janine protested, she ripped her scarf down from her face, holding up her controller and pressing buttons for Leaf to see; the character on screen still didn't move in the slightest. "My controller disconnected when I was about to win, how in the world is that a fair match?"

Despite how Janine was clearly very worked up about this, and how Leaf wanted to do nothing more than rub her misfortune back in her face, she also wasn't a sadist. She did care for Janine, and even she had to admit, using an accident like this to her advantage would be a dick move.

"Alright, alright. That's fair." The malice disappeared from her smile. "You probably would have won if the controller didn't disconnect." 

Janine nodded, still glaring at Leaf, who continued. "But, a bet is a bet, and that means you have to join the idol group." 

Janine was about to protest when Leaf held up a hand to silence her. 

"I wasn't finished." She said coldly. "I admit that that wasn't fair, and in order to satisfy my conscience, you are allowed to add an additional condition to the bet." 

Janine raised an eyebrow. "Like, anything I want?" 

"Within reason." Leaf added quickly. "Nothing illegal, or life threatening." 

Janine thought for a moment, before a smile spread across her features. Not a malicious smile, or a jealous smile, or even a smug one. It was genuine happiness, which only made Leaf even more intrigued. 

"Okay! I've made up my mind." Janine nodded.

"And?"

She took hold of Leaf's hand. "I want you to join the group with me!"

\---------------------------------------------

Iris hadn't been able to contain her excitement, even slightly. 

When Janine and Leaf had shown up at her doorstep with the news that they wanted to join, she had almost fainted on the spot. After Janine had caught her, ultimately sparing her skull from being cracked on the ground, she was incapable of even slightly hiding her enthusiasm.

Unfortunately, that meant subjecting Leaf and Janine to it as well. While they always admired Iris' optimistic outlook and eagerness to do her best in everything she did, it could be.... tiring. To put it lightly.

After enduring the barrage of 'thank you's, the three conceded that there was a lot they needed to discuss, and they needed somewhere to do that.

No one knew why they chose the middle of nowhere, but they did. 

In the forests of Unova.... yeah, that was a great idea. At least it meant that no one would find them, even if it was incredibly stupid and dangerous to go out there in the first place. 

"Sooooo" Iris began, sitting down on a fallen tree. "What are we going to call the group?" 

A question that no one had thought of, or even considered.

"Sorry if this is rude" Leaf folded her arms. "But I'd say that's the last thing on our 'important things that we need to discuss' list." 

"I agree with Leaf here." Janine pulled her scarf even further over her face. Leaf never really understood why she wore the scarf over her face to begin with, it wasn't like there was anyone else there with them? Hell, why she wore the scarf when there was only Leaf and her in the room was a mystery she never understood. Modesty maybe?

"I think we should decide on a few more important things first." Janine continued. "Like, is this group a secret, or is it something we should tell our friends or family about?" 

The smile quickly disappeared from Iris' face, and Leaf looked towards the ground. 

"..." 

An awkward pause, Janine began to question if she should have just kept her mouth shut. 

"I don't think I want Drayden to know about this." She admitted quietly, her voice missing all of its usual excitement. "I don't really expect him to understand... he doesn't really understand... well, a lot of things about me"

Both Janine and Leaf knew exactly what she was referring to with that comment, so they knew that it wasn't something they should tease her about. Leaf withheld any sarcastic remarks she normally would have made.

"I kind of agree with Iris here." Leaf didn't look up from the ground. "I don't even have family to tell, but I don't want anyone at the league finding out about this. It would just be another reason to tell me I'm not taking my battling duties seriously." 

"It's going to be pretty difficult though" Janine added, fiddling with the end of her scarf. "I mean, I don't want Koga finding out about this, but it's almost impossible, since it kind of relies on people knowing who we are." 

"..."

"..."

There was another silence, none of the girls making eye contact. 

Iris suddenly perked up, "Or! We could have stage names!" 

"Stage names?" Leaf repeated questioningly. 

"Yeah! Like how K☆Tsu has stage names." She made some vague gestures. "Of course, everyone knows their real names are Hilda, Skyla, and Lisia. But their fans call them Shiro, Asuka and Tsu." 

Janine seemed to consider the prospect for a moment. "So... Call ourselves something different?" 

Iris grinned, bouncing up and down. "Yeah! Exactly!" 

"What do you have in mind?" Leaf quirked an eyebrow. 

Iris thought for a split second, before blurting out "Kayda." 

The two certainly didn't expect an answer that quickly, or an answer that Iris seemed to be so sure of, but then again, this was Iris. Expect the unexpected could summarise the girl fairly well.

"Why Kayda?" Janine asked. 

"Well... It means something like 'Little Dragon' doesn't it?" She asked, tilting her head to one side. 

Leaf snickered. "Okay, I'll admit that's pretty good." 

Janine sounded amused in her response as well, although she did better at hiding it. "I don't know if a simple pseudonym is enough to fool Koga, but...." 

"But....?" Leaf smirked, leaning in a little closer. 

"...Apricot." She said bluntly. 

Iris tilted her head even more to the side. "Why?" 

"..." Janine paused for a moment. "... It's the nickname my mother gave me." 

"Anzu, Right?" Leaf asked gently. She knew a little bit about the situation with Janine's family and she knew that Janine didn't like to bring it up. Although, the rare occasions where Janine let her in on her struggles were never ones that Leaf forgot. She never forgot how tears would leak from Janine's eyes when she brought up her mother, and how the two would act as though the conversation never happened the next morning.

One of the things that Leaf picked up was that talking about her mother was out of bounds, unless Janine was the one that initiated it. 

Janine nodded. "Yes, she used to call me Anzu." 

Leaf simply nodded in response. There was an unspoken understanding between them, that no words were necessary at all. Leaf knew well enough how Janine felt just by looking into her eyes, the ghost of several years of grief and sorrow. 

No one felt the urge to disturb the somewhat melancholic atmosphere that had settled on the group. 

"..."

"So," Janine was the first to break the silence. "What's your stage name going to be?" 

Leaf thought for a moment, her eyes drifting away from Janine. "Hana." 

"Like, flower?" Iris asked, recalling the very little Kantonese she knew. Janine snickered, and Leaf blushed. 

"Well, every flower has a leaf, right?" Leaf bit her lip, now seemingly unsure of her choice of name. "I can change it if you want." 

"No, no." Janine reassured "It's perfect." 

"So, Kayda, Apricot and Hana...." Iris contemplated the nicknames for a minute, before grinning widely. "I love it!" 

"That makes one of us." Leaf scoffed but smiled nonetheless. "I think we have other things to worry about, though."

"Rude, but fair point." Iris kicked her legs back and forth like how a child would sit in a high chair. "When's our first performance going to be?" 

"Call me crazy, but I think that might be jumping the gun a little bit." Leaf sighed. "Song lyrics, instruments, choreography, outfits, etc." 

"I can take care of choreo." Janine volunteered. "Although, I'll need to know everyone's physical limitations." 

"Physical limitations?" Iris tilted her head to the opposite side this time.  
"Yes, what you can and can't do." Janine clarified, kneeling down to pick up a stick from the ground. "Then I can come up with a workout plan for us to follow, it might be harsh, but it should push your limits." 

At the mention of workouts, Leaf knew that this was something Janine would take seriously. 

"Look who said she'd be a terrible Idol." She commented, watching as a blush consumed Janine's face. Most of it was hidden by the scarf, but just enough of her flush peeked out to be noticeable. 

"Well, if we want to be taken seriously, we need to be serious." Janine poked the stick into the ground and began to draw what looked like a table. "I think we should start with a watered down version of my own workout plan, then we can see how it works for all of you, and go from there."

Leaf's mouth dropped open in horror as Janine wrote "200 push ups" into the table. 

"I though you said you were watering it down." She protested. 

"I am, my usual routine is double this." She continued to write into the table. '200 squats', 'basic stretching'. 

"That's a lot of exercise" Iris whined, Janine snapped her head up to look at her.

"Do you want to do this or not?" Janine continued to add more to the exercise regimen, to Iris' shock and somewhat horror. 

"Yes, but..... that a bit extreme isn't it?" Leaf looked down at the rapidly expanding list of exercises, which they were apparently supposed to do daily. 

"Are you the ninja here?" Janine asked.

"No Ma'am." Leaf said semi-sarcastically, but also somewhat out of fear of Janine. The girl was terrifying when mad, somewhere between 'rampaging legendary' and 'you just called dragon types stupid in front of Clair/Lance' scary. "But exercise isn't the only thing we have to do daily." 

"Hm?" Iris leaned back on the fallen tree, lying down on it like it was a bed. It was probably full of bugs, but Leaf didn't have the heart or patience to scold her. 

"We have to sing, you know?" She was somewhat surprised, that Iris had started a group like this with so much inexperience and lack of knowledge. "That's kind of the main point of an idol group?"

"Ah." Janine bit the inside of her cheek. "Well, I suppose so."

"What's everyone's range like?" Leaf asked, pushing herself up from the tree she had been leaning on. 

"You know about singing?" Iris gasped, a huge smile on her face. 

"A-a little bit." Leaf said, averting her eyes from Iris "But you didn't answer my question." 

"My range isn't great." Janine commented. "I'll have to work to make my voice more steady as well." 

"Well, that's a start." Leaf grabbed another stick from the ground, and added another column to Janine's table. She labelled it 'Vocal exercises', and quickly began writing several exercises in the boxes underneath. 

"This is going to eat up a lot of the time you would usually be training. You know that, right?" Janine looked up from her dirt drawing to make eye contact with Leaf. 

"I am very aware." She commented dryly. "And I could say the same to you." 

Iris couldn't contain the huge grin on her face upon seeing the two planning. All her dreams were going to come true! Well... it had only been her dream for a few days, but that was alright, wasn't it?

"I can help with music, If that's helpful?" Iris asked, turning her head to face the two while still lying on the tree. "I play the drums, and I know how to write and compose sheet music" 

"Thank Arceus for that, or I have no idea how we would even begin to write a song." Janine laughed. "At least we're not completely in the dark then."

"Do... any of you know the first thing about writing song lyrics?" Leaf asked. She was met with a deafening silence.

"..."

_sigh_

This would be a LONG night.

\---------------------------------------------

Somehow, they had done it. 

Through a combination of dumb luck, even more dumb luck, several YanmaTube tutorials, a few hours of feeling like they were slamming their heads against a brick wall and quite possibly divine intervention, they had done it. 

They had successfully made a song. 

Turns out that Iris' expertise in sheet music was their saving grace. The hardest part was writing the actual lyrics. 

Yet they had triumphed nonetheless. They had a song to perform, and although Janine's training regimen had proved damn near impossible at first, they slowly got used to it. 

Now, it was their first performance. Just at a small venue, and only as one of the many idols performing. At least they had somewhat of an audience, even if it was just because of the other acts and groups proceeding them. 

But now, Janine was having second thoughts, and third thoughts, and fourth, and fifth. 

When Iris had happily presented the outfits that she had commissioned, Janine almost died on the spot. 

_  
"So what do you think?" Iris held up the bag by the coat hanger poking out of the top. The dress was encased in a clear plastic to prevent any stains or spills during the travel process._

_Janine opened her mouth like a magikarp, but no words came out. The dress was beautiful... sure, and the other two dresses just like it were also very pretty. It's just... not what she expected._

_"I thought you said it would go down below the knees?" Janine asked, keeping a level of composure in her voice._

_"Well..." Iris inspected the garment through the bag. "It still goes down to your knees, it's just a little bit above. That's okay, right?"_

_Truthfully, no. It wasn't okay at all. Janine would rather have died than worn that dress. Yet she had signed up to be an idol, this was just part of the job, right? She couldn't back out now, especially after they had worked so hard...._

_But that dress was scary, even though it was just a bundle of fabric held together with thread, it terrified her._

_"Yeah." Janine lied. "It's fine."_

_She would just have to make it work.  
_

Well. It wasn't working.

The mirror seemed to betray her, drawing attention to the areas she wished were smaller, and detracting from the parts of herself that she actually liked. Not that there were many to begin with.

A gentle knock on the door startled her out of her self-hating spiral. 

"Hey, are you almost ready? We're due to go on soon." Leaf's distinct voice. 

Janine collected herself before responding. "Yeah, I'll be out in a second." 

"... you alright?" She asked more softly. 

_No, I'm not. I have no idea why I ever thought this was a good idea_

"Yeah." She lied. "I'm fine, just wait for me for 2 minutes, okay?" She tried to put on the most cheerful tone that she could. 

It didn't seem to fully convince Leaf, but Janine heard her footsteps becoming quieter as she walked away nonetheless. "Just don't make us late." 

She was left alone. Not that she minded. 

Here eyes couldn't help but drift over her reflection in the mirror once more. It felt like looking into a fairground mirror, that her body had been warped and twisted by the shape of the glass. It hurt Janine even more to know that this wasn't a trick of the light, this was just her. 

It wasn't that the outfit was abhorrent, it was beautiful. The purple fabric fell down to just above her knees, a secondary lighter purple layer underneath it. A golden stripe ran up the centre of the dress with a bow by the neck. It was amazing, Janine could tell there was a lot of hard work put into it. The dress wasn't the problem.

It was her. 

She wiped her face with the back of her wrist, wiping away the beads of water that had formed at her eyes. 

Just great. Crying before their first ever performance. 

She remembered she had left her concealer in her bag, which was at the other side of the room. She would need that. She probably should have applied it earlier that day, since she should have known the outfits would have short sleeves. 

She exited the changing room with a sigh, she really REALLY didn't want to have to explain away... certain things. Especially not to Iris or Leaf, maybe one day, but that day was not today.

Unfortunately, when Janine exited the changing room she found herself face-to-face with Leaf, who stood there with her arms folded. _What the hell? Has she been there the whole time?_

"I thought I told you to wait for me?" Janine asked, instinctively pulling her arm behind herself. Leaf narrowed her eyes.

"I am waiting for you." She commented, eyes drifting down to the arm that was hidden behind her back. "Are you ready to go on stage yet? There's only three performances left before us, you know?" 

"Umm, well, I-" Janine stammered, she tore her eyes away from Leaf and locked them on the bag in the corner. "Just give me a minute." 

She tried to rush past her to grab the bag, but somehow Leaf managed to grab her arm on the way past, stopping her in her tracks. She tried her best not to wince. 

There was silence for a few seconds. Leaf looked at Janine's arm with an unreadable expression on her face. Janine didn't make any effort to pull free, even though Leaf's firm grip really hurt. 

"..."

"..."

Janine wished that she could disappear, or teleport somewhere far away. 

"..."

"You owe me an explanation." Leaf said, voice level and clearly straining to keep the anger from her tone. Janine swallowed. 

"After the show... now isn't the time." She looked at Leaf with pleading eyes. 

"Does Koga know about this?" Janine shook her head.

"No. I don't want him to know about this." She sighed. "Please don't say anything, I promise I'll explain everything after the performance. I just wished no one had to find out about... this"

Leaf loosened the grip on her arm, allowing her to wriggle free. "Alright. I won't tell Iris, or Koga. But you better have a damn good explanation for this later." Janine shakily nodded.

"I've got concealer in my bag." She said simply, she didn't have to elaborate further for Leaf to understand what she meant. 

"Alright." Some of the anger in Leaf's gaze seemed to evaporate. "Just be done as quickly as you can" 

"Will do."

\----------------------------------------------

"Still watching that concert?" Peonia asked, leaning over the back of the couch so that she could look at Marnie. The girl was predictably still looking at the video on her phone. 

Marnie opened her mouth to retort, but quickly shut it again with a small blush. "Well, maybe I just really like this song." 

"Sure you don't just really like the group?" Peonia prodded, Marnie glared back at her. 

"Hey!" Marnie got up from where she was sitting in order to lightly smack Peonia. Neither of them interpreted it as anything other that playful teasing. "I can like idol groups if I want to" 

Peonia giggled, but didn't say anything further on the subject. 

Marnie seemed insistent on defending herself, even after Peonia intended on dropping the subject. "I mean it! Just because I'm a trainer doesn't mean I can't have interests." 

Peonia raised an eyebrow, "Oh? I never said you couldn't, I just thought it was unusual, coming from someone like you" 

Marnie flushed an even brighter shade of pink at the comment, and seemingly scrambled to defend herself. "W-well! I just-" she seemed to splutter a bit, before giving up. "Ah, forget it."

The cogs in Peonia's brain turned for a moment, but it didn't take long for it to click. 

"You know...." She began, turning her body so that she faced Marnie (who was still flushed). "That group is scouting for new members. I think they could use someone like you." 

Peonia didn't think it was possible for Marnie to become even more flustered, but clearly it was. The poor girl was as pink as a luvdisc, Peonia almost felt sorry for her. Almost. 

"What do you mean? I'm not interested in anything like that!" She protested, but her voice and still-pink face betrayed her. Peonia snickered darkly. 

"Hm?" She hummed questioningly, raising her eyebrows as a devilish smirk spread across her face. She leaned closer to Marnie, closing the gap so that there was barely a meter between them. 

"S-stop!" Marnie covered her face with her hands. "I'm not interested! I don't like girly things like this." 

Peonia knew this was a low tactic, but truthfully, she loved how flustered Marnie got at the mention of anything even remotely girly. It was adorable, to say the least. 

"Oh? I guess that time that I walked in on you was just a dream then?" She moved even closer, resisting the urge to grab her hand or establish any physical contact in order to maintain boundaries. "That pink dress was very flattering on you."

"I told you not to bring that up!" Marnie protested, still keeping her brows furrowed as she attempted to glare at Peonia. Unfortunately that didn't mesh well with the blush on her face. "And I don't want to join an idol group. It's not for me. I've still got to take over the gym one day"

Peonia pulled out her finishing move. "Awwww, but you'd look so cute in those outfits." She said in a sing-song tone. 

"Don't call me cute!" Marnie squealed, burying her face even further in her hands. Peonia knew that she had gone far enough, even if she was right, there was no point teasing her more about it. They could talk about it later. 

As if on cue, Piers wandered into the room, instantly spotting his incredibly flushed sister, and the smug Peonia. He simply raised an eyebrow at the scene.

Peonia's smirk vanished when she turned to him. "Oh, Hi Piers" She tried to smile, but it was obviously forced.

Piers stayed silent for a moment, observing how his sister was currently dying of mortification, and how Peonia was probably the cause. He didn't really mind too much, it was good that Peonia was able to draw Marnie out of her shell, even slightly. 

It was then he remembered why he came in the room in the first place. 

"Hey Marn'" He said casually, his voice just as monotonous as his sister's. "Gloria left ye a message, she wanted to see how yer gettin' on." 

"A-ah." She stammered. "I'll..... go call her back" 

She ran out the room faster than a Latios on steroids. 

It was just Piers and Peonia. 

The room suddenly seemed a lot more tense than it was a moment ago. Peonia definitely thought so, as she clenched her muscles, preparing for the worst. 

But that didn't happen, instead Piers just sighed, and took a seat on the couch next to her. 

"...thanks" Peonia said as soon as he sat down. "For... putting up with me I guess" 

Piers nodded. "'S nothing to thank me for. Marn' loves havin' ye around, so no need t' worry" 

"Well... I felt I should thank you anyways." She raked a hand through her curly hair. 

There was a temporary silence. Neither party knew what to say, and neither of them really had the guts to say it. The fact that Peonia never really spoke about her own home, and always seemed to come to visit Marnie all the way in Spikemuth spoke well enough.

Hell, the fact she was even in their living room at that moment instead of with her own family, or in a hotel, or training, or literally anything else spoke well enough. 

Piers wanted to talk to her about it for a while, but he never really knew how to bring it up. 

"Now that Marn's away, there's..... a couple things I'd like t' discuss with ye, if that's alright." 

Peonia clenched her jaw subconsciously, but she refused to let it show as she nodded. Unfortunately Piers was good at detecting small cues, when you grow up with a sister that doesn't emote much, that's something he got really good at.

"I know ye've told Marn' that ye live in the crown tundra w' yer dad, but...." He paused slightly to analyse Peonia's face, which was trying too hard to stay stoic. 

"... that's bullshit, ain't it?" 

Peonia clenched her jaw even harder. Was it really that obvious?

"I dunno what you're talking about." She muttered, still unable to look at Piers. 

Piers sighed again. "Yer not any good at lying, no offence." 

Peonia's posture became a lot more defensive suddenly. "Well, it's not a lie. I live with my dad in the crown tundra, he just let's me visit the Galar mainlands a lot." 

"..."

"..."

"Both of us know that what ye just said is a load of bullshit." Piers said softly, still taking care to be firm, but not so firm that he scared her. His appearance already did enough of that. 

"It's not." She protested, but it did little to convince Piers. 

"Listen. I'm not one t' judge anyone's situation. Trust me, me n' Marn' have been through our fair share of tough times." He explained, some concern shining through his monotonous voice. "So, ye don't have t' lie t' me."

"I already told you. I'm not lying." Peonia folded her arms, trying her best to keep her voice cold, yet failing miserably. 

"Alright then." Piers narrowed his eyes slightly. If she wanted to play that game, then so be it. "How come whenever ye say yer getting a train home, ye end up buying a ticket t' the wild area instead?"

Peonia's breathing hitched as she tried to think of a comeback. "Well... I...." 

"How come ye spent yer birthday here instead of with yer family." Piers raised an eyebrow. "From what I've seen o' Peony, he's no the type that wouldn't at least see ye on yer birthday, and I'm willin' t' bet that yer gonna be spendin' Christmas here in a few weeks" 

Peonia didn't have a counter argument to that, but she opened her mouth to retort anyways, Piers cut her off. 

"Also, yer very defensive about not being seen on camera, especially from reporters that come 'round looking to interview Marn'. That's not like ye." He raised an eyebrow. "'N don't even get me started on how much time ye spend in the wild area. That's not normal." 

Peonia closed her mouth, defeated. The stoic expression disappeared from her face as she sighed. 

"Also, how come Peony contacted the league t' send out a search warrant because ye've gone missin'?" His gaze hardened. "Yer lucky that he hasn't gone to the police." 

"..."

"I could go on, but I've got a feelin' ye know what I mean." Piers said, a lot more softly. 

Peonia furrowed her brows together. "Why are you even bringing this up? To rub it in?"

Piers' expression didn't change, but Peonia knew that he was concerned. "Nah, that's not it. I just wanted t' let ye know that yer always welcome here. Always" He scratched the back of his neck. "I know Marn' would kill me 'f anythin' happened t' ye. So ye can always come t' me if ye need help, alright?" 

"I know...." Peonia unclenched her jaw, still feeling quite on edge. "But I can take care of myself." 

"Just because ye can, doesn't mean ye should." Piers blinked slowly before sighing. "If ye don't want to stay here, that's fine. I won't force ye into anything. Just know the door's always open, and at least let me buy ye a new tent." 

"The one I've got is fine. But thanks for the offer." Peonia smiled slightly, although neither of them believed it was genuine. 

"Alright, just promise ye'll come to me if anythin' happens?" Peonia nodded. 

"... Please don't tell Marnie about this." She suddenly met Piers eyes, her own eyes full of fear. "I don't need her worrying about me, and I know she will." 

"Don't worry 'bout that." Piers reassured, the lack of emotion in his voice didn't dilute the meaning at all, and Peonia sighed as a wave of relief washed over her. "'M not one to pry int' others personal life, I was just worried 'bout ye." 

Peonia breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm going to hold you to that." 

"Go ahead" Piers didn't smile, but Peonia felt comforted nonetheless that the man had listened to her. She expected a lot more yelling, a lot more prying into subjects she wasn't comfortable discussing. 

"..." 

"Thanks. For respecting boundaries, I guess?" 

"No need t' thank me fir havin' common decency" Piers leaned back on the couch. 

"..." 

"What did I miss?" Marnie asked, Peonia perked up at seeing her friend in the doorway, looking slightly concerned at the silence that had settled between the two. 

"Ah, it's nothing" Peonia grinned at her. "Anyway, what were we talking about before? Oh yeah, how you totally don't have a crush on Gloria or anything."

"What? No I don't!" Marnie protested. "And that is not what we were talking about."

"Would you prefer I went back to that instead?" Peonia teased with a grin. Marnie furrowed her brows. 

"No! I'd much rather we just..... nevermind" Marnie sighed, defeated. She made her way over to the couch and plopped down in between Piers and Peonia. "So, what were you two taking about?" 

"... eh, it's nothing important"

\----------------------------------------------

How the breeze swayed the trees. It was always something Peonia found comforting.

Even how the wind shook the fabric of her tent, that was also strangely comforting to her. 

She would take whatever comfort she could get at this point. 

The sight of the scorched ground around the spot where she always set up her campfire, how the tent pegs stayed pristine because of only being hammered into the ground one time, and never removed. How the fabric of her tent was clearly worn, having withstood the test of time and intense weather. 

It was all comforting, but also so painful. 

This was her home now. This had been her home for months. This little corner of the wild area that no one ever traversed in. She had made it her home, because no one would ever find her here.

Her heart always hurt upon thinking of her own home, her real home. The fluffy duvet and carpet that she always loved the texture of. How the thermostat was always just right, and of course, all her belongings. She had taken some of them when she left, but she wondered what had become of the stuff she left behind.

Perhaps Peony threw it out, glad to be rid of his daughter. Or maybe it was still there, gathering dust after Peonia left. 

_He's glad I'm gone_ she thought, looking up at the trees that provided somewhat cover for when it rained. _I bet he's happy that I'm out of his hair_

Even with the campfire's warmth, the chilly wind blew through the clearing still made Peonia shiver. At least there was no tall grass around this area; well, there was, but the only Pokemon it housed were hoards of Joltik and the occasional blipbug. It was nothing compared to the terrifying beasts that roamed the crown tundra. 

Even when the rain poured down and the intense wind blew, her tent stayed standing through it all. She was thankful that her dad was an expert in camping, and she was even more thankful that she payed any attention. Her dad was definitely good at explanations. 

Her dad was always there for her, whenever she needed anything from him. Wether it be a hug, or guidance, or reassurance. Anything. Peony would have gone to the ends of the earth for her. 

But she couldn't rely on him anymore. 

It was for the best that Peonia left. She was nothing but a nuisance to her father, at least that's what she thought. Peony never expressed anything else but pride towards his daughter, but Peonia knew that it was fake. He couldn't be proud of her; he shouldn't be proud of her.

Peonia had accepted that. 

So then why was she crying? 

She raised a hand to feel her now-wet cheeks, and she cursed under her breath. 

She had left. She shouldn't be feeling this way. She shouldn't miss her dad. 

But it hurt. It hurt so much. 

\-------------------------------------

~Idols~ 

Kayda: AAAAA  
Kayda: Guys. Guys. Guys. 

Apricot: Yes?

Hana: ?

Kayda: LOOK.  
Kayda: _*link*_

Apricot: It's.... our performance?

Hana: I didn't know it was on YanmaTube though.  
Hana: Was that one of you two?

Apricot: Wasn't me

Kayda: it wasn't me either  
Kayda: BUT THATS BESIDES THE POINT.  
Kayda: LOOK!

Hana: I am  
Hana: Congrats, you've figured out how YanmaTube works.

Apricot: What are we meant to be looking at?

Kayda: THE VIEWS.  
Kayda: COME ONNNNNNN.

Hana: Damn, okay that's kinda cool

Apricot: Oh wow!  
Apricot: That's way more than I thought 

Kayda: I KNOW.  
Kayda: 5,000?!?!?!

Hana: You're in another region but somehow I can feel your excitement through the screen  
Hana: it's contagious

Apricot: （＾∇＾）  
Apricot: That's Iris 

Kayda: YOU'RE ALL SERIOUSLY UNDER REACTING HERE  
Kayda: THATS SO MANY!

Hana: I admit, it's more than I thought  
Hana: But it's nothing compared to the Millions that K☆Tsu get

Kayda: Leaf 。・゜・(ノД`)・゜・。

Apricot: That was quite mean

Hana: Just stating facts here

Apricot: It doesn't mean we shouldn't be proud though  
Apricot: We should be really proud of ourselves (:

Kayda: Yeah!  
Kayda: Maybe we aren't as popular at K☆Tsu right now, but that doesn't mean we can't work hard. 

Apricot: Exactly!  
Apricot: oh, also, have we got anything on the terms of new members?

Kayda: Ummm  
Kayda: Not yet T-T

Hana: Well, that's to be expected  
Hana: We shouldn't give up though

Apricot: Exactly!

Hana: I'm sure it will all work out eventually.

Apricot: Actually, I'm curious  
Apricot: Who recorded that video?  
Apricot: Who even posted it?

Kayda: Ummm ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡  
Kayda: I don't actually know

Hana: Yeah, fair question  
Hana: Who's the channel?

Apricot: The channel is brand new  
Apricot: And it's just called 'NOVA'  
Apricot: I'm more impressed by how it was filmed  
Apricot: The person clearly has experience 

Hana: Isn't Nova the nickname that the group got?  
Hana: Since we didn't decide on a name, they seem to call us nova.  
Hana: That's what the comments say, at least. 

Kayda: Ohhhhh, Nova...  
Kayda: I love it!

Apricot: Doesn't Nova just mean 'new'?  
Apricot: Is this their way of calling us newbies?

Hana: I think so  
Hana: I guess it works for now  
Hana: At least until we decide on an actual name

Kayda: I like Nova!  
Kayda: It sounds cool

Apricot: I'm more concerned about who filmed us  
Apricot: And why? Why not any of the other groups that performed?

Kayda: Well, let's not worry about why it happened  
Kayda: Let's just enjoy that it did :D

Hana: You know what? That's fair.  
Hana: I didn't join this group to be miserable, after all.

Apricot: Yeah! I'm just surprised that anyone likes this group tbh  
Apricot: With other groups like K☆Tsu to compete against, it's kind of a miracle （＾◇＾）

Kayda: Mhm!  
Kayda: As long as we're all having fun, that's all that matters

Hana: Finally, something I can agree with

\---------------------------------------------

"So, have you admitted that you want to join the group yet?" Peonia prodded, Marnie narrowed her eyes at her.

"No, because I don't want to join the group." She folded her arms. "I wouldn't suit outfits like that." 

"Hmmmmm?" Peonia hummed smugly, leaning in towards Marnie. She received a harsh shove from her, causing her to stumble to the side. 

Marnie glared at her harshly as she regained her balance, her shove successfully wiping the smug look from her face. 

"Okay, I deserved that." Peonia admitted, rubbing her side where Marnie had shoved her. "But I'm still right." 

The air after a match, it was always so... crisp. So fresh and cool. It was just cold enough to warrant a jacket, but not so cold that the puddles of rainwater at the sides of the streets froze to ice. Just enough to cause her to shiver, a stark contrast to the cramped humidity of the stadium.

Leon's matches were always packed, but this one was a special case. It felt like the entirety of Galar was packed into the rows of seats, without every single one filled by a bright eyed fan. 

Predictably, Leon won. However Peonia still thought it was an exhilarating match and even though Marnie's face stayed mostly expressionless, Peonia knew she was excited too.

"Keep talking like that and I'll get the flying taxi to leave without you." She snapped. 

"Okay, okay, I'll shut up for now." She laughed, sending Marnie another smug glance. "But you've got to admit, that you'd be amazing in a group like that." 

Marnie didn't respond, instead sending her a harsh glare. 

Peonia spotted the taxi they had booked and waved her hand wildly. The taxi driver seemed to notice her and flashed a smile as the two approached. 

"Flying taxi for Peonia and Marnie?" He asked, Marnie nodded. 

"I never understood why you don't like flying taxis." Marnie commented as the two climbed into the back seat of the taxi. "They're very convenient."

The driver gently shut the door on the two, Marnie assumed the position closest to the window as Peonia shrugged. "I dunno, I guess I've always just been used to using flying Pokemon for everything." 

Peonia scooted over to the opposite end of the taxi from Marnie, not because they didn't want to be next to each other, but because they both wanted the window view and didn't want to have to lean over the other one. Peonia looked out the slightly cloudy glass as the taxi slowly began to ascend.

"..." 

The taxi quickly became silent, but not the awkward kind; the kind that feels calming, it was a welcome break from the roaring crowds. 

Once the taxi was high above the streets of Wyndon, Marnie finally broke the temporary silence. 

"So, when are you going home? Won't your dad get worried?"

 _Ah._

Peonia picked at a bit of the cracked leather seat. "Well, he knows I wanted to take you to Leon's match tonight, so he doesn't expect me to be home. I'll probably swing over tomorrow morning." 

A small pause. Peonia's eyes were still fixed on the city beneath them, looking tiny at such a high altitude. She didn't look at Marnie, but she assumed that she looked unconvinced.

"He lets you out of the house quite a lot, doesn't he?" She commented, Peonia tried to judge her tone, and concluded that she was going to press this point until she got an answer. 

"Yeah, he's not very strict about things like that." She tried to laugh off any suspicion Marnie had on her. 

"I thought you said that he was overprotective?" Peonia did not like how sharp Marnie was, especially when it came to detecting lies. 

_he **was** overprotective _

"Well, he's overprotective of certain things." Peonia said. It technically wasn't a lie. "But he also knows that I'm older now, and that I want to hang out with friends more. He trusts you anyways." 

"..." 

"..."

"You better not be lying to me." Marnie warned. "He knows where you are right now, right?" 

_Lie. It's the only way out of this._

"Of course he does." Peonia smiled. "I'm not that stupid that I would just run off without a word to him, he'd go mental." 

_Well, maybe I would._

"You promise?" Marnie asked, looking into Peonia's eyes with a somewhat firm, somewhat hopeful look. She extended her hand to initiate a handshake.

 _Promise? Oh Arceus no. Please no._

Peonia was Marnie's best friend, she was her first friend. The two were always there for each other when they needed them, they understood how it felt to lose over and over again. They shouldn't keep secrets from each other, they shouldn't....

Peonia felt as though her heart was being torn in two. She had to lie, she couldn't admit it now

She had ran away. She couldn't go back, and she couldn't risk Marnie making her go back. She couldn't ever own up to her mistake. She couldn't show how much of a coward she was.

She reached out and took her hand, shaking it with a smile. 

"I promise." 

She felt like the most disgusting, filthy, scum of the earth. 

\---------------------------------------------

The two entered the flat, being greeted with the empty silence. 

The couch was empty, to their surprise. They expected Piers to be on it, with the match on the telly, but that wasn't the case. Instead, there was no trace that Piers was home at all.

Peonia certainly wasn't complaining.

Marnie discarded her jacket on one of the hangers before reaching to take her hair down from it's twin tails. 

"Hey, Marnie." Peonia grabbed her by the hand, keeping her grip somewhat relaxed so that she could pull away if she wanted to. "Let's go to your room"

"Why?" She asked.

"Welllllll" Peonia leaned in with a smirk. "We could try on some of the outfits in your closet." 

"Are you five?" Marnie asked, softly glaring at her. "And my stuff wouldn't fit you, you're taller than I am." 

"That may be true, but..." Peonia began walking into Marnie's room, dragging Marnie behind her. "I also might just want to see you in that dress again." 

Peonia didn't miss the tiny tinge of pink that graced Marnie's face as she dragged her into the room. 

"I thought I told you not to bring that up!" She huffed "And I don't even have that dress anymore, I threw it out after you- Hey!" 

Marnie was interrupted by Peonia throwing open her closet with the force of a thousand suns. A sea of black outfits on hangers greeted her, along with a black bag sitting at the bottom of the closet.

Not what Peonia expected, but she had a feeling Marnie knew how to hide things. 

Marnie ran over to the closet and tried to slam it shut, only for Peonia to grab the black bag from the bottom just before it closed. 

"What's in here?" She asked, using her height advantage to hold the bag just out of her reach. Marnie stood on her tiptoes to try and reach it, to no avail. 

"Give it back!" Marnie said, a little too much desperation in her voice.

Peonia pushed Marnie back with enough force to get her away from her, but not so much that it actually hurt her. "Seems like this is something important." She commented, a sickeningly smug smile on her face.

She quickly undid the knot on the bag, just as Marnie took a hold of the plastic. The resulting feud caused Marnie to rip the bag from Peonia's hands, but the contents spilled onto the floor, leaving her holding the empty bag.

Peonia looked down at what had fallen out, and unsurprisingly, it was the dress. A pastel pink with a magenta ribbon around the waist. The skirt was knee length and pleated tightly, but just enough fabric to make it breezy. The bodice was fairly simple, with tiny sleeves made from a sheer pink fabric. 

The girls looked at the dress for a few seconds, frozen from shock. Peonia was the first to brush off the surprise, and quickly snatch it from the floor before Marnie could.

"Threw it out, did you?" She asked, smugness lacing her tone. 

"Hey! Give that back." Marnie ordered, attempting to grab it from Peonia, but having it taken out of her reach again.

"Oh I will." She smirked. "On one condition."

Marnie narrowed her eyes.

"You have to admit you actually do like wearing this kind of thing, and that you're only denying it because you don't want to seem girly." Marnie wanted nothing more than to slap that grin off of her face.

"No." 

"Shame." Peonia said, beginning to fold the dress. "I guess you won't get it back then." 

"That's stealing." Marnie pointed out. "And it's mine to begin with."

"You're awfully defensive over a dress you supposedly hate." Peonia commented, holding it out of Marnie's reach once again. 

Marnie snarled, and grabbed Peonia by the forearm. She ended up dropping the dress onto the floor, locking eyes with Marnie just so that she could smirk at her even more. 

"You're so cute when you're angry." She commented, voice sickly sweet.

"I will kill you." Marnie deadpanned, Peonia chuckled: 

Peonia grabbed Marnie by the wrist, gently pushing her off of her. She restrained herself so that she wouldn't hurt her. This was still (somewhat) playful, and neither one of them actually wanted to hurt the other.

Marnie seemed to take that as a challenge, as she didn't back down, instead walking forwards. Peonia stumbled backwards, tripping over the dress on the floor. She let go of Marnie's wrist as she fell backwards so that she wouldn't drag her down. 

Marnie instantly dropped all her anger and rushed to make sure Peonia was okay. "I'm so sorry, are you hurt?" 

Peonia rubbed the underside of her thighs where she landed, wincing slightly. "Yeah, it's alright." 

Marnie sighed with relief, her glare returning to her face. "I'm still not wearing the dress, OR joining that idol group." 

A mischievous twinkle appeared in Peonia's eye. She grabbed Marnie by the wrists once again, using her body weight so that she manoeuvred on top of her. Marnie ended up pressed flat against the floor, with Peonia holding both her wrists above her head.

"You are, and I'm not letting go until you admit it." She smiled. 

"This is blackmail." Marie protested, her face going even more pink. She struggled to free herself from Peonia's hold, but the girl had a grip like steel. Marnie's struggles were in vain as Peonia chuckled. 

While Peonia was laughing at Marnie's misfortune, she took the opportunity to use one of her legs to throw her off of her. She fell to the side of Marnie, still giggling.

This time, Marnie was the one that took hold of her forearms, pinning her to the ground with slightly less strength than Peonia did. 

The two were so caught up in their somewhat-play-somewhat-real fight that they didn't hear the bedroom door open. Nor did they notice the gaze of two people watching them. 

"Apologise." Marnie commanded, a look of rage that Peonia had only seen a handful of times on her face. 

"Make me." She smugly responded.

"And I think that's my cue to leave." A new, deeper voice said. All the colour drained from the girls' faces in an instant as they turned their heads to the person in the doorway. 

"L-Leon!" Marnie stammered, her face going as red as his cape. Her grip on Peonia's arms faded so that it was barley there at all.

Leon was in the doorway, a somewhat awkward smile on his face, Piers stood behind him, looking slightly amused. 

Peonia realised how this didn't really look the best for either of them. To add insult to injury, the dress was laying discarded on the floor, which probably didn't help Leon and Piers suspicions. Marnie still had her pinned to the ground.

Peonia burst out laughing, only fuelled more by Marnie's look of upmost mortification. She wanted to disappear on the spot. 

Leon chuckled, Piers spoke up from behind him. "We were just goin' t' let ye know that Leon's over t' visit, but I see yer.... busy" 

"I swear this isn't what it looks like!" Marnie pleaded, finally releasing Peonia's arms in order to turn and face them. Leon held up his hands, still smiling. 

"Hey it's okay, I'm not one to judge who you date." He chuckled slightly, Piers was looking more amused by the second.

Peonia didn't think it was possible for Marnie to go an even deeper shade of red, but clearly it was as she spluttered to form a response. Peonia herself had to curl her knees to her chest because of how hard she was laughing.

"W-We aren't dating!" She protested. "This is a misunderstanding!" 

Peonia somewhat collected herself from her peals of hysterical laughter, and managed to splutter out. "Marnie, you are so fucked." Before instantly bursting into even more laughter.

"You are not helping, Peonia!" She squealed, turning her head to show Peonia that she was as red as a shuckle. 

Peonia did her best to stifle the rest of her laughter as she stood up to face Leon. "Alright, alright. We're not dating, we were just fighting over something stupid." 

"Riiiiiiight" Piers looked throughly unconvinced. "Well, I've forgotten why we even came in here t' begin w'" 

Leon opened his eyes to flash the two girls a grin. "Just letting you two know that I'm staying over tonight, just so we don't have a repeat of.... that." 

Peonia almost felt sorry for Marnie. Almost. The poor girl seemed like she was going to drop dead of embarrassment at any moment. 

"Alright." Peonia grinned back at the champion. "Just knock next time." 

"Will do." He saluted. 

"I-I'm going to get a drink!" Marnie stated, eyes still wide from the shock. She quickly stormed past the two men and into the kitchen, hiding her face in her hands while whimpering. 

Peonia was about to follow her when Leon stuck out a hand to stop her.

"You're Peonia, right?" He asked in a low voice. The smile disappeared from his face in an instant. 

Peonia tensed up, and considered lying her way out of this, but considering that Piers was right there, and the fact that Marnie had called her by name a few moments ago, any lie she came up with wouldn't hold water. She reluctantly nodded.

"Yes. Why?" She asked, a little bit of bite to her words. 

Leon seemed shocked at how casually she admitted this. "Where have you been for the past month? Your dad has been worried sick." 

Peonia felt an unknown emotion churn in her stomach like butter. Something between guilt and anger. How did Leon even find out about this? How was it any of his business? Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut?

Whatever of the happy mood that was left in the room quickly evaporated.

"The wild area." She admitted quietly. Leon's jaw dropped down slightly.

"For a month? How?" He pressed. "When your dad came to the League to say you had gone missing, they made all the gym leaders do a complete sweep of the wild area, myself included. I hope you have a good explanation for him, Arceus knows you're going to need it." 

Peonia didn't like how close he was, so she rested her fingertips on his chest and pushed him back slightly. He took the hint and backed off, but kept his steely glare on her. 

"First off." She took her hand away from Leon's chest and raised her index finger. "Piers has been letting me swing by here occasionally, so I'm not in the wild area all the time." She raised a second finger. "Secondly, There are thousands of hiding spots in the wild area, thousands of caves, nooks and crannies. There is no way you searched them all." She lifted a third finger. "And third, I don't owe him an explanation for anything."

Leon furrowed his brows. "You're his daughter, and you went missing in the middle of the night. Also a week before your birthday. You **definitely** owe him an explanation." 

"How is it any of your business?" Peonia snapped. "Last time I checked, you're not my dad. Why should I have to answer any of your questions? Because you're the champion?" 

Sensing that the situation was getting hostile quickly, Piers stepped between the two. "Alright. Enough fightin'" he said in his usual flat tone, but the words had some sternness to them. "I let Peonia stay here 'cuz she's clearly goin' through some stuff, 'n it's not my place t' ask what." 

"Yes, but this is a matter of the League." Leon stated firmly. 

"A League that I'm part o'." Piers shut down whatever protest Leon was brewing. "This isn't yer place t' intervene. She's not ready t' go back yet, 'n it's our job t' respect that."

Leon rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You don't understand. Peony's only daughter has been missing for a month, he's worried absolutely sick about her. The only reason the police haven't gotten involved in this is because he trusts us more than them." He looked back up at Piers. "I can't let him continue to worry about his daughter's safety when I know where she is."

"It's none of yer business though, is it?" Piers said in a low tone. "She had a reason fir runnin' away, 'n she's clearly not ready t' go back yet. The right thing t' do here is stay silent." 

Leon seemed to hesitate for a bit, before sighing. Peonia spoke up, saying something that pained her to say. 

"Please don't tell Peony." She sighed, the words taking a lot out of her to say. She hated saying 'please', especially to people she didn't know that well. Yet she knew this was the only way to get Leon to stay quiet. "I'm not ready. Not yet." 

Some of the harshness seemed to fade from Leon's eyes. He slowly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Okay, If you answer me this, then I'll stay quiet." 

"Yes?" 

"When do you plan on going back?" He asked quietly.

Ah. 

Truthfully, Peonia had no idea. She didn't know if she would ever be ready. She couldn't go back, she had already dug her grave. She couldn't go back. _She shouldn't go back_

"When I'm ready." She replied. Leon let out a deep sigh, and patted her shoulder. 

"Alright. I promise I won't say anything to Peony." Peonia nodded. 

"Thank you."

Leon smiled, not his champion smile that he showed the crowds, a genuine, soft smile. "It's no problem, kid." 

\---------------------------------------------

"So what was that talk with Leon about?" Marnie asked, sipping on her apple juice. A movie that neither of them really liked or had any interest in was playing in the background, more as background noise than anything particularly engaging.

"Ah, he just asked me if I was a Pokemon trainer, and if I would be interested in doing the gym challenge." Peonia lied with a smile. It was a million times better than admitting what actually happened. "You know what he's like"

"And what did you say?" She prodded.

"I said I wasn't interested." Peonia took a sip of her own orange juice. "I might do it one day, but today isn't that day." 

"That's a shame." Marnie propped herself up on her headrest. "It's fun, and I think you'd be good at it." 

Peonia scoffed. Marnie jumped to defend her. "What? It's true."

"Yeah." She twiddled the straw from her carton in her hand. "You're the future leader of Spikemuth gym, you don't get to talk." She smiled slightly. "And you're also a future idol."

"Didn't I tell you to drop that already?" Marnie groaned, sending a semi-serious glare her way. Peonia was unfazed, as usual. "I don't want to join"

". . ."

"What are you afraid of?" 

"What?"

Marnie looked to Peonia, expecting to find a smug grin, a devilish glint in her eye, anything. Yet she didn't see any of that in her expression, all she saw was a little bit of concern, eyes studying her like she was a particularly strange Pokemon. It was so unlike Peonia.

"I said. What are you afraid of?" She repeated. 

"What do you mean?" Marnie raised an eyebrow. "What does this have to do with the idol group."

Marnie expected this to jolt Peonia into her usual nefarious self, but still... nothing. Her eyes seemed to analyse her, inspecting every part of her.

"You're afraid." She commented. Marnie narrowed her eye even more. 

"Afraid of what?" Marnie asked, a part of her genuinely curious to what her answer would be, the other part of her confused beyond words. 

Peonia closed her eyes and shrugged. "You tell me." 

Marnie wasn't great at... emotions. Especially her own, and Peonia acting mysterious and trying to pull some sort of mind game on her only made her frustrated. At least she had a guess as to what this was about.

"If this is about the idol group, I already told you. I'm. Not. Interested." She squeezed her carton of juice a little too thoroughly, some of the apple juice spilling onto her top. 

"..."

"I mean it!" Marnie protested, even though Peonia was silent. "It's not my thing. I'm not supposed to like things that are cutesy and stuff..."

"..."

Marnie was beginning to get frustrated at the lack of responses she was receiving. "Well, I'm sure they could use someone like you anyways. They wouldn't have much use for someone like me."

"..."

"..."

"You're afraid." Peonia repeated, her face still lacking any sort of smugness. 

Marnie turned to her, genuine anger on her face. "Well, maybe I am! Are you just going to sit there and mock me for it?" 

"No." Peonia said simply, drawing in a deep breath. "It wouldn't be right for me to judge, since I'm scared as well."

This peaked Marnie's curiosity, and she couldn't help asking. "What are you scared of?" 

Peonia ignored the question for a moment, but after a moment, she opened her eyes and weakly smiled at Marnie. The sparkle in her eyes wasn't malicious, or mocking, or even playful, it was just... happy. "Scared that you can't admit what makes you happy."

"W-wha?" Marnie recoiled. "What sort of 4d chess is this? If you're trying to get me to admit that I like being girly sometimes, then it won't work!"

It took both parties a few seconds to process what Marnie just admitted. Peonia's smile still didn't turn malevolent. 

"See? It wasn't that difficult, was it?" She said, uncharacteristically sweet, Marnie suspected this was a prank, a trick to get her to express weakness so she would have blackmail material for later. But... 

"I-I guess not."

"If you want to be an idol. Then go for it, it's not like Piers or anyone else has to find out." She stood up from her spot on the floor, making her way over so that she could place her hands on top of Marnie's. 

"Why are you doing this?" Marnie raised her eyebrow curiously, still suspecting that this may be a trick. "I expected you to be all smug about this."

Peonia giggled. "Normally, yes." She locked eyes with Marnie. "But I think I can hold my imperiousness for now. It's not like I could get you to open up by being snarky, after all." 

"I... suppose so." Marnie averted her eyes from Peonia. 

A brief silence, Peonia gently caressed Marnie's hands with her thumb.

"So what do you say?" She smiled widely. "You wanna go on a trip to Hoenn real quick?" 

"Hoenn?" Marnie tilted her head to the side. Peonia was already gathering her things from off the floor. 

"Of course." She grinned back at her. "That's where they're meeting, after all." 

"How did you even-?" Marnie cut herself off with a sigh. "You know what? Don't answer that." 

"That's a secret I'll never tell." Peonia winked at her.

"You're the worst......" Marnie puffed her cheeks out, but she couldn't resist the feeling of glee that welled up inside her.

She was going to be an idol. It was really happening.

\---------------------------------------------

"How do you know they're meeting here?" Marnie asked. 

Peonia waited until the girl had definitely gotten off her skarmory before quickly recalling it back to its ball. Sootopolis seemed a strange place for a meet up, but she didn't put anything past Iris at this point.

"Long story." She sighed "Short version, my dad has lots of connections from his time as champion, and Iris is one of those connections."

"Iris?" Marnie asked, tilting her head to the side. 

"Iris, Kayda, whatever you want to call her" Peonia approached the metal door, giving it a quick knock. 

"You mean, Iris is a member?" Marnie asked, looking slightly flabbergasted. Peonia nodded. 

The two could clearly make out a few voices from inside the room, and they appeared to be bickering about something. Followed by a pair of footsteps. 

After the sound of someone fiddling with a door lock, the door swung open, revealing a familiar girl with brown hair. 

"Hello?" The girl said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Do you need something."

Peonia took initiative, sensing that Marnie probably wouldn't be able to carry the conversation on her own. "Yeah, I heard you were scouting for new members?" 

The girl raised an eyebrow, a little bit of light returning to her eyes. Another familiar figure a similar height to her appeared beside her, her spiky purple hair tied up with a ribbon. "You're here because you want to join?"

"Well, I don't." Peonia clarified. "But Marnie does." 

Marnie stepped out from behind the two, fiddling with the edges of her sleeves. A strap around her body held a guitar to her back. 

"Hi." She said, looking up to face the two. "I'm Marnie."

A third figure appeared in the doorway, shoving the other two out the way without regard. "Peonia! Is this who you wanted to bring?" Iris asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Peonia nodded.

"Yes, this is Marnie." She introduced. "She plays guitar, and she wants to join your group. We're from Galar, so it's a bit far away, but we can make it work." She subtlety rested a hand on her back. "She's a little shy, but give her a bit to warm up to you, and she's really sweet." 

"I wouldn't say that..." Marnie blushed a light shade of pink, but it seemed to vanish fairly quickly when she locked eyes with the three in the doorway. "I hope we can get along."

Iris didn't make an effort to restrain herself, as she jumped forward and took hold of Marnie's hand tightly. She instinctively tensed up. "It's great to meet you! 

Marnie reluctantly shook Iris' hand, slightly put off by the girl's hyper demeanour. "H-Hi" 

The other two behind Iris backed off a bit in order to open the doorway. The one with spiky hair gestured to let both of them in.

Iris basically dragged Marnie in, with Peonia following close behind. 

The girls ended up at a small table, three chairs currently around it but with a small stack of chairs in the corner. The other two girls went to fetch two extra chairs from the stack so that Peonia and Marnie could sit down. 

"So, why did you want to join?" Iris asked with a smile, pulling Marnie into one of the seats. The rest of the group also sat down, fixing their eyes on Marnie.

"Um." She retracted her hands further into her sleeves so she had something to fiddle with. "I just really like this group, and I thought I could help with any guitar parts." Peonia nodded at her reassuringly. 

"Yeah, we could definitely use your help with that." The brown haired girl commented. "I'm Leaf by the way, and this is Janine."

"Leader of Fuchsia gym, daughter of elite four Koga." She bowed slightly. "It's nice to meet you too."

"You can just say your name is Janine, you know?" Lead commented, Janine shrugged. 

Peonia drummed her fingers against the wooden table, not out of impatience, more out of boredom and the desire to do something with her hands. Marnie was here now, so she wasn't really needed.

"You're Peonia, right?" Janine asked. She nodded. "Are you here to join as well?"

"What? Nah." She brushed her off with a smile "I'm just here for moral support, and because I didn't really have anything else to do." 

Janine seemed to accept that as an answer, as she turned back to Marnie. Marnie herself looked a little overwhelmed, but Peonia didn't step in yet, she knew Marnie's limits and wouldn't hesitate to get her out if she felt they were being pushed. As for the moment, she seemed alright.

"There's just one thing I need to ask before you can become an official member." Iris held up one finger for emphasis, still grinning ear to ear. "What's your stage name going to be?" 

"...stage name?" Marnie repeated questioningly. Iris nodded enthusiastically.

"Mhm! Everyone here has one, mostly for privacy reasons, but also because it's kind of unanimous for idols to have them." Iris rested her hands on her knees. "Mine's Kayda, because I specialise in dragons."

Marnie thought for a moment, and Peonia could see the cogs turning in her head. "Does... it have to be very different to my actual name?"

Leaf shook her head. "Nah, it can be similar to your real name if you want. Just go with whatever speaks to you" 

"..." Marnie went silent again, clearly deep in thought. 

"Marie" she said after a while, Peonia raised her eyebrows. 

"How come?" She asked, Marnie looked over with her usual blank expression, but her eyes were slightly wider than usual. 

"Well." She seemed unsure of herself and quickly averted her eyes, looking down at the glossy table. "It sounds like my middle name, Mary." She fiddled with her sleeves even more. "I can choose something else If you don't like it." 

"It suits you." Janine said, smiling at her reassuringly. 

"Yeah." Leaf added.

"Welcome to the idol group, Marie!" Iris jumped on Marnie to hug her, which she recoiled from. Peonia prepared to step in, but waited for Marnie to show any signs she needed help.

Marnie made eye contact with with Peonia that said _save me_ . 

"Okay, back up a bit, Iris." She rose from her chair, prepared to physically split the two if Iris proved clingy. Fortunately, she took the warning in her tone and let go of her. Marnie rubbed her arms, as if trying to remove the lingering feeling from them.

"Is... that it?" Marnie asked. "I'm really a part of this group?" 

"Mhm." Janine nodded. "I hope you enjoy being a part of it." 

Peonia felt a tug of pride, for some strange reason. Her heart swelled upon seeing Marnie go for her goal. Although... there was another emotion there that she didn't recognise.

Something darker, something.. spiteful. 

She should be happy for Marnie, she **was** happy for Marnie. But also...

_Crying, again._

_It wasn't a surprise, Peonia was used to crying. But this... it hurt so much, so much more than it should have. It felt like she was at rock bottom, yet somehow she had been knocked down even further, past rock bottom and down to steel._

_She shouldn't be crying. She was too old to cry. She was 12 now. 12 year olds don't cry._

_Especially not over something so stupid._

_Even when she tried her best to stifle her sobs with the pillow, hiding her phone under her bed as if everything on it would cease to exist as long as it was out of her sight, she still ended up attracting the attention of a certain someone._

_He softly knocked on her door, a stark contrast to his usual loud personality._

_Peonia wiped the tears from her face with her pillow, not that it did much, as she was still a bright red. Some of her makeup came off on her pillow, leaving some nice black spots on it where her mascara leaked.  
"Nia, are you alright?" A very concerned voice asked. _

_"Yeah." Peonia replied, loud enough for him to hear. She couldn't stop her voice from shaking, even as she responded. "I'm alright."_

_"Can I come in?" He asked gently. Peonia shook her head before she realised that he couldn't see her, but she didn't have the energy to formulate a response. Instead she focused on wiping her face, and subsequently rubbing off some of the mascara that streaked down it._

_When Peony received no response, he slowly creaked open the door. Peonia flipped over her pillow quickly to hide the makeup stains, at the same time averting her eyes from her father._

_Peony walked over to sit next to her on the bed. Peonia still refused to look at him._

_"What's wrong?" He asked._

_"It's nothing" Peonia wiped her face with the back of her wrist._

_"Nia...." He placed one of his large hands on his daughter's shoulder._

_Peonia resisted the urge to look at her father, to break down into his arms on the spot. She had to be strong, she had to be tough. She couldn't rely on him forever._

_"..."_

_"I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong." He said softly. She took a shaky breath and shut her eyes, still keeping her face turned away from him. He hadn't seen her crying yet, even though Peonia was fully aware that he knew, the simple fact that he hadn't seen it kept her pride somewhat intact._

_"There's nothing wrong." She said, a little more firmly. "And if there was... it wouldn't be something I could talk to you about"_

_"Hey, that's not true." He squeezed her shoulder in an attempt to be reassuring. "You can talk to me about anything."_

_"..." Peonia didn't trust herself not to let out a sob if she continued speaking._

_Unfortunately, her lack of speech wasn't enough to stop herself from choking on a sob. She instinctively tried to curl up into a ball. Peony brought his arms around his daughter, pulling her close to him in a protective embrace._

_As much as Peonia wanted to struggle, to push him away or wriggle out of his grasp, she couldn't bring herself to. She let the remains of her pride shatter and curled up to her father, hugging him back. She buried her face to try and stifle any more sobs that came from her._

_"Tha e ceart gu leòr" he reassured. "Mo fhlùr beag"_

_Peonia grabbed her father tighter, feeling incredibly small. She never wanted to let go, she wanted to hold on tight and savour the feeling of being held, of being rocked like a child and told that everything was okay._

_Peony would always be there for her, even when she cried. Even when she shouldn't be crying. Peony always had a way of making her feel like whatever problems she faced were rational and that she wasn't irrational for being upset._

_She liked that._

_She liked having someone that was always there for her._

_But she didn't have that anymore._

_Running away had been the worst feeling in her entire life, but she knew she had to run away, there weren't any other options. Well, there was, but Peonia preferred not to think about them._

_It was for the best._

_When the tears come at night, when she feels her makeup being cried off and rubbing off onto his pillow, no one is there. No one is there to tell her that's it's alright. Just the cold emptiness of the tent, and the howl of the wind outside._

_But that was for the best too. She shouldn't cry. 13 year olds shouldn't cry, especially not over stupid things like loneliness._

_She shouldn't cry._

__

_You don't have anyone anymore_

Ÿ̶͚̀̉ȯ̸͎͝ù̴̧̬ ̸̜̟̜͘d̵̺͋̏o̷̬̙̎̃̎ñ̵̜̙̭̇'̵͖̰́̉̎ͅt̴̘̩̞̀ ̵̳̆̎͝h̵̗̃̃͂ḁ̴͎̣̀̍͊v̵̺͇̰̉̊̚ë̵͇͙́ͅ ̷̰̏͝a̶̪̠̦̐n̸͇̣͍̏y̷̢̅o̴͉̫̯̓̀͝n̷͓̝̲̉́̅e̵̱̎̓ ̶̰̺̟̊̋ǎ̴̙͌͘ṉ̷͆y̵̭͎̖̎̇͆m̴̞̳̗̃̔̍o̵̘͙̱͑͠r̸̞̟̪̀̃̾e̶̛̖̕

Ỹ̷̤̦̳̔̀̌̈̕̚͝ọ̴̢͔̪͖̺͕̜̓̈̐̿̈́̓͒͜ử̷̢̧̯̝̯̻̻̳̞̭́̀̓̓̈́̇̈̎̚ ̷͇̱̠̩̩̝̝̑̈́̾́͗͂͝d̴̞͙̜̲̫͕͆̅͌̆o̶͓̫͍̿̄́͑͋͗̈̉̿̚n̴̢̯̭̹̝̤̣̩̟̄͒͐͜'̵͓̪̭͇̙̣̱̤̣͐̀͆͂̂̓̈̌̊̃͜ţ̷̭̭̣̱̹̾͠ ̶̓̍͆̀͐̐͒̚͝͝ͅh̵̨̝̟̳͓̊́̓̚͜a̵̜͖̖̳͖̪͇̝̺̜̓v̵̨͔̬̦͙̬̻͐͌̾̾͗͗͛̕͝ę̷̺̪͂̓̈́̓́͊̈́͝ ̶͓̈́ã̷̤̐́͛͌͐̚͠͝͝n̷̡̛̝̙̻̦̰̙̋̉ỷ̴̱̜̱͚͓̮͍̓͐̽ơ̷̢̨̢̨͙̥̯̹̬̝̾̉̂̌́͝n̸̳̺̻̯̻̣̩̻̥̼̭͒͒́̑̇̔͑͌͘ͅe̶͈͍̥̥̽̒̀̈̐̀̚̚ ̴̡̓̌̿̿̋͂̑̎̚ǎ̷̜̼̭̰̪̩n̴̨̤͈̩͚͈͓͕̯̓̐̎̌͋͠y̵̨͔̤͉̣͚̭͌m̶̰̼̳͎̲̮̘̥͚͎͖̏͐̎ơ̷͔͈̅̒̉́̚r̷̡̗̿̂ḛ̷̢̫̱̦͓̯̓͑͗̍̍̚

T̵̟̹͓͓̤͎́̿̎̒̇͜h̸̨̨̻̖̦͉̪̗̤͙͕̗̮͕̦͐̑̂̐̽̈̈́̚͘î̴̧̛̛̅̋͑̅̀̌̽͛̀̏͋͜͠s̴͇͖͔͈̉͊̉̽͜͜ ̷̢̢̪̪̩̦̥̣̩͓͕̭͉̹̣̖͉͗̅̕͝i̸̡̨̳͇̞̘͎͙͉̟̒̒͜ͅͅs̷̛͙̻͇̦̟̰̀̄̉̒̓̾͘ ̵̢͖̐̈͛͋͂̃̉̀͂̒̅͌̈́͆͝ẅ̴̡̧̪̬̭͍̬͇̦̥́͊̀̓h̸̢̠̮̤͖̋̇͆͊͋̂̕a̸̯͉̫̥͚͍͍͎͍̳̟̭̹̍͑̀̾͒̓́̏́ͅt̸̢͈̯͍͙̩̮̦̭̗̙͙͙̗̘̮̏̈́̐̇̊͗͒̔̌̃̈͘͝͝ͅ ̷͇͕̮̅̊̇̄͛̿͗͆̕͝ÿ̵̢̧͕̱̥̹̘̜͎̭̩́̃̅̌̎̕ͅö̴͉̙̗̳͖͔͖͚̟̲̳̘̼́͆͌̔̽͛̀̚ͅͅū̵̧̫̯̪̱̞͕̫͉͇͓̬̳̯̭̃̒̀̋̌̓̃̐̓͑̀͘ ̵̢̻̫̠͇̮͚̬̤̳͇̜̻̘̖͌͆́́̄̆͜͝ͅw̶̢̨̺̝͉͙̩̤̖̦̻͓͌̄̐͌̇͌͘̚͝ͅa̷̦̖̤͈̖̝̝̭̪̗̼̭͋̎̀̽̂̇̍̕̕̚͝͝n̷̥̭͉̮̳̙̟͉̱͉͙̋̾̿͗͆̿͛̋̇͆̔ţ̵̢̨̛̗̻̠̯̰̩̽͗͑̃͐̓͒̔̾͛̽̈͗͠e̷͇̭͖̹̟̒̓̐ḋ̷̢͊̏̔̏͆̇̕.̶̜̮̠̪̞͂̏̓́́̀͋̃͝ͅ ̶͉̣̖̱̹̖̬̫͕̔̈͒̓̋͐͛̒̚͠Ṛ̴́̋̈́̔̾͛̿̆͗̈́̀̏̋̊̃̿͘ĭ̴̢̛̪̲̹͍͙̙̥̲͉̠̭̔̓͐̀̉̑͛̒͗͒̃̆̓̕͜g̸̥͉̅͌̏͋͗h̴̛̥͚͕͂̂͜ͅţ̸̛̛̪̗̞̇̏̄̆̐̄̏͌͗͆̋̈͛͒?

Marnie would be busy now that she joined the idol group.

She wouldn't have time to talk to Peonia, or let her swing by Spikemuth anymore.

She would lose her too.

By taking her here, she had inadvertently pushed her away too. Just like how she pushed Peony away, just like she pushed everyone else who cared about her away...

"Wait!" Peonia stood up and slammed her hands on the table, causing everyone to turn to look at her.

"..." she paused for a moment, before whispering something barley audible. "I want to join as well."

\---------------------------------------------

"So what's your idol name going to be?" Iris asked, having significantly calmed down from the bombshell that was just dropped on her. It took her a while, a very long while, and she was still bouncing up and down in her seat. At least she wasn't screeching like a deranged chatot anymore.

"Umm...." Peonia thought for a moment.

_Mo fhlùr beag_

"Flùr." She blurted out suddenly, sounding surprisingly sure of herself. 

"How come?" Leaf asked. 

"It means flower..." she said. Technically telling the truth, just omitting a key detail. "In Gaelic. Tundra Gaelic." 

Janine suddenly burst out into a fit of giggles, elbowing Leaf in the ribs "Looks like you're not the only one"

"Welcome to the club." Leaf rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "By that I mean the 'flower name' club." She hesitated for a moment. "And I suppose the idol group as well, but that isn't important."

Marnie looked bewildered, but made the decision to stay quiet. 

Another quiet knock at the door, which startled everyone in the room. "I'll get it." Iris volunteered, despite being the farthest one in the room from the door. She didn't let that stop her, as she ran to the door in record time. 

She flung it open, revealing another person around their age. They had short green hair, with bangs that flicked out to the side. Emerald eyes stood out on their tanned face.

"Ummm, Hi!" The person waved, seeming unsure."I heard you were scouting for new members, and I wondered if I could... maybe join?" 

Iris grinned, gesturing for them to come inside. "Sure! Come on in! We were just initiating a new member, so that's brilliant timing." 

They seemed hesitant to come in, hands fidgeting together as they made their way into the room, Iris pulled up a seat and put it between Peonia and Leaf.

"So what's your name?" Leaf asked.

"Oh, I'm Kane." They looked down the floor. "But, can everyone call me Mallow?"

The rest of the group nodded, quickly picking up on the situation. Marnie quietly asked " You're trans?" to verify.

Mallow nodded, running her hand through her hair. "Yeah... can everyone use she/her, if that's okay?" 

"Of course." Janine smiled, "So why did you want to join?" 

"Actually, I brought someone else with me as well." Mallow gestured to the door, where a very scared looking girl peeked around the doorframe. She had gone unnoticed by Iris, and was now contemplating wether to run away or not. 

"Come in, Lillie." Mallow smiled back at her.

The girl slowly stepped into the middle of the doorway, everyone noticing that she was trembling. "Ummm, Hi..." her voice was little more than a whisper. "I'm Lillie... I hope we can all get along."  
\---------------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 16,000 words. Damn. 
> 
> Also I this Venn diagram came into my head while writing and I had to share it-
> 
> [](https://ibb.co/hKzymBx)
> 
> ~Notes~
> 
> Tha e ceart gu leòr -It's okay/ It's alright  
> Mo fhlùr beag - My little flower
> 
> Intentionally leaving the group nameless because I suck at names. Nova is the current placeholder but I doubt it will stay. If anyone has any suggestions please tell me, because I am stuck.
> 
> Yes! Lisia, Skyla and Hilda will appear more in later chapters. And yes, I was very inspired by A-rise. K☆Tsu is just the shortened version of the full name (Kumori tsubasa) 
> 
> On a more serious note, please tell me if anything is off with my depiction of Mallow. I am not trans, but I did a lot of research before writing as well as talk to several trans friends. But if there is absolutely anything wrong/weird please tell me and I will immediately correct it. It is not my intention to offend or cause harm to anyone who is trans, and I hope it doesn't come across that way. 
> 
> (I've no clue how frequent updates for this fic will be, and I am very sorry for basically putting my other fic on hiatus for this one, but I got a stroke of inspiration and spent the past month writing this... whoops) 
> 
> Thank you for reading this far <3

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback/criticism appreciated!


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